Maybe Baby
by Alex Snape
Summary: The unlikely story of a chaotic couple and the son they raised. My first fic, totally re-edited. Nolanverse Joker and Harley. Rated M for swearing, graphic violence, and sexual content.
1. Chapter 1

**Yes, kids! It's back! My first fic! Revamped and improved! I will be posting a couple of chappies at a time, so please read and review. Thanks! :-)**

One would think that robbing a bank was just one of those villainous fads, worn out by hacks that were trying to emulate the bank robberies in the old black and white films or dusty, dime novels. But, The Joker just couldn't help but go on these little "constitutionals" every now and again with Harley Quinn, the 'Bonnie' to his 'Clyde'.

He laughed as they hopped into the getaway car, Harley at the wheel, and they soon were zooming past frightened onlookers.

The Joker tilted his head back as he cackled with glee and dropped the now bulging duffle bag to his feet onto the floorboard. Harley gripped the steering wheel tightly as she veered corners until she had finally lost the two squad cars in a cloud of exhaust and confusion.

She loved when he laughed like that, his mouth wide open and his scarred cheeks elongating his mouth into a vast smile. His cackling always sent chills through her body, but today she wanted to hurry home. In fact, she had been hesitant in going out at all today, but The Joker convinced her that it would just be a quick stop as he needed something to ease his boredom.

Her silence was soon discovered as his chuckling died down. He cast his eyes on her as he ran a tongue across his painted lips and saw her vexed expression as she drove.

"Harley?"

No answer. Just a blank stare through the windshield and her small hands at 'Ten and Two' on the wheel.

"Harley-girl?" he said a bit louder.

She quickly jerked her head around and their eyes met momentarily. Harley noticed that his face held a slightly concerned, if not annoyed, expression, and she knew that he could tell that something was off about her today. "Something's...troubling you," he stated, simply.

"Oh, no, Puddin'," Harley assured him as she turned right at a dead traffic light and continued down an empty alley. She sat up straighter and quickly changed her tone. "I'm fine. I'm just…a little tired is all."

The Joker sniffed as he prodded the toe of his shoe at his duffle bag on the floorboard. "You were tired yesterday," he reminded her.

"Well, I haven't been sleeping well lately...I don't know..."

He chuckled as he gave her a quick pinch of her painted cheek. "You need to cut down on the Stephen King stories, cupcake," he said as they pulled up to the abandoned theater they called home.

She stopped and put the car in park, and as they both walked to the front door, the bag thrown carelessly over The Joker's shoulder, Harley soon found herself wrapped inside his free arm. "How 'bout Daddy draws ya a nice, hot bath, hm?"

Her eyes slightly widened at this rare offer. Usually it would be Harley preparing a bath for him, so this sporadic display of affection was definitely going to be accepted.

She smiled at him as she nodded and he allowed her entrance first into their home. "Meet you there, Mistah J?" she asked as she trotted to the stairs.

The Joker stepped to their make-shift kitchen and threw the duffle bag onto the table. His three close men sat around the loot and waited for his instructions. His eyes locked with Harley's and his heart threatened to pound as he sighed and said, "Go on, doll..."

Harley bit her lip and knew that was her cue to leave the Boss to talk to his men.

The Joker turned to them as he casually distributed the contents of the bag to each one. Three bundles were rationed to them and the Boss left the rest of the bills in the bag, zipped it up tight, and tossed it back over his shoulder.

"Meeting's adjourned, gentlemen," he said as he started to the stairs.

Buddy and Ringo obligingly headed to the door with their day's pay, but Elvis, the youngest of the brood, held back just a bit as he watched the Boss open the bedroom door, and he sighed as he heard Harley's playful giggle and The Joker's approving growl.

Later that evening, Harley opened her tired eyes and stretched her naked body. Her right hand accidentally nudged The Joker, who was lightly snoring as he lay on his back, the thin sheets draping over his hips. She grinned as she looked at him and slowly raised herself from the bed and went into the bathroom.

She shut the door and used the toilet, and when she finished, she glanced into the bowl. "Dammit," she cursed to herself. "What the hell is going on?" She quietly opened the door and walked to her vanity where her small purse lay on the seat. She rummaged through it until she found her pocket calendar, and she sighed as she opened it and noticed that she was well past the day that was marked with a star.

She shut herself back in the bathroom and leaned against the sink counter. "I guess I have to go get a test. Man, how do I cover _that_ up?" She pulled her hair in a ponytail. "Okay, Harls. It's okay, really. I mean...maybe it won't be so...I can just go to Ivy's, test there and then...maybe I'm just gonna be late this time and...oh, man." She moaned as she placed her face in her hands. Tears threatened to break through her tightly shut lids and she sniffed hard.

"Oh...this is bad..." she finally accepted. Harley quickly wiped a tear from her cheek as she heard the bathroom doorknob creak. "Harl?" came The Joker's tired voice through the door.

She pivoted to face the mirror, let down her hair again and absent-mindedly brushed it as The Joker, still nude from their playful romp, came up behind her and bit her shoulder. "Mm!" she squeaked in surprise. "Puddin'..."

He sleepily raised his eyes to the mirror and looked at her reflection. He smacked his lips and squinted, saying in a lazy growl, "What did, uh...why was I coming up to our room, again?"

Harley giggled. "You were supposed to make a bubble bath for me."

"Oh, yeah!" he said, jokingly. "Bath. Right. You distracted me..."

She turned to him and put down her hairbrush. "What? How did I do that?"

His eyes traveled down her naked body. "The same way you're doing it now..." He snarled hungrily as he planted his lips in the crook of her neck.

"Puddin', come on!" she said, laughing as his scars tickled her skin.

"Huh? Oh! Bath...gotcha..." He moved away from her and proceeded to finish his original intention of making her relax.

Harley watched as he prepared to pour a heaping cap full of bubbles into the hot water, and she bit her lip. She decided to take advantage of his good mood and cleared her throat. "Mistah J?"

The Joker turned to her after pouring in the bubbles and stepped closer. His dark, tired eyes pierced her blue ones and she took a quick breath before saying, "I kinda wanna go see Ivy tomorrow. Would that be okay, Pud?"

He narrowed his eyes at her and she knew why. The Joker didn't care too much for Harley to be in her company and it was always tough for Harley to go visit her only friend. She quickly placed her arms around his waist and looked up at him. "We're just gonna hang out and watch movies, maybe..." When she noticed an apprehensive eyebrow raise, she added, sweetly, "Please, baby? I need 'girl-time.'"

The Joker snickered. "I knew something was bothering you," he told her as he kissed her forehead and she squeezed him tighter. "Come back..."

Harley gave him her biggest smile. "Of course...I wouldn't leave my Daddy."

He grinned back at her, but it soon faded as he stepped away to turn off the tap to the bathtub. "I don't like you out there by yourself; too many cops. Elvis can drive you."

**The next day**

Elvis gripped the steering wheel as Harley sat in the backseat of the old black Cadillac. He would glance in the rearview mirror at her as she stared out of the open window, the blonde wisps of hair that had fallen from her ponytail wafting in the cool breeze. He cleared his throat when her eyes cut a glance back at him and he quickly shifted his attention back to his driving.

He always had to be cautious when Harley was around, but it was a bit hard for him when her very presence made his stomach fill with nerves and his mouth turn dry. What was more astounding to him about her was The Joker: why him? Why was this beautiful woman doting after and shacking up with an unbalanced individual such as this sick clown?

He knew that he would never understand it, and he knew that he would always have to watch her from a distance. The thought of this would make the drought in his mouth travel to his throat.

Harley balanced the small potted geranium in her lap as she rolled up the window of her door. She looked down and sighed at the plastic bag next to her on the seat. She had Elvis stop at the drug store on the way, picking up her 'feminine unmentionables,' she had explained with an awkward smile. Harley had instead walked hastily to the 'Family Planning' aisle and grabbed a pregnancy test, throwing cash onto the check-out counter and rushing back to the car.

The ride seemed to take longer than usual but when she looked up to point this out to her driver, Ivy's apartment slowly crawled into view and Elvis was soon trying to parallel park. Harley grabbed her plastic bag. "Don't worry 'bout it, Elvis," she said, feigning a satisfied smile. "I can walk."

Elvis put his arm on the front seat as he turned to look at her. "You sure? When do I need to come pick you up, Miss Quinn?"

Harley gave him a genuine, amused smile. "Eight is fine. Oh, and Elvis...it's Harley."

The young man chuckled as he smiled, half-embarrassed, half-flattered, but before he could respond, Harley was already walking into the apartment building, performing a balancing act with her bag and potted plant as she opened the door.

Elvis drove away, mentally kicking himself for not opening that door for her.

It had been at least two months since they last saw each other and Ivy smiled as she opened the door to find her friend. "Well," she said, crossing her arms with a satisfied grin. "There's my wayward girl. I've been wondering when you would be turning up at my doorstep again."

"Hey, Pammy," Harley greeted her quietly and Ivy was slightly taken aback at the tone of voice that was contrary to her joyful smile.

Harley sat on the loveseat in her living room and set the geranium on the coffee table. "I hope you like it, Red," she said. "The flowers haven't bloomed just yet, but I think they'll make a perfect addition to your-"

"What's going on, Harl?" Ivy calmly asked.

Harley didn't answer at first, but just continued to stare at the plant in front of her. She caressed its sprouting stems. "I wonder what color the flowers will be. Maybe red, or even yellow-"

"Harley," Ivy said patiently.

Her friend bit her lip and sighed. Her eyes soon welled up with tears as she handed Ivy the plastic bag. Ivy raised a brow at her, but her mouth was soon pursed with an expression of concern when she looked at its contents. "Oh...Harley...again?"

"I'm for sure this time, Red," Harley sniffed in reply.

"That's what you said the last two times."

"Red! I'm really late! I'm sure of it!" Harley put her face in her hands and wept as her friend set the bag onto the coffee table next to her new plant.

She sat quietly as Harley cried, then, licking her lips with an expectant air, she asked, "Does 'Daddy' know yet?"

"No," Harley said softly. "No idea. I don't know how to tell him, so I want to make absolutely sure that I'm..." She sighed as she picked up the box and fiddled with the cardboard.

Ivy put her hand on Harley's shoulder. "If anything...happens...you can stay with me. This is always your second home." They shared a smile and she stood up, taking her hand and the bag. "Why don't we get this over with then?"

Ivy directed Harley to the bathroom, but Harley soon pivoted to face her and said, "I've read that some brands can be defective and-"

"We'll never know that until you try them, Harley," Ivy said. "Now, go." She sighed and rolled her eyes as Harley shut the door to the bathroom. This wasn't the first pregnancy scare that Harley had, so Ivy knew the outcome already. She always came to her door in fearful tears and would leave feeling as if she could fly, she would be so relieved.

Harley unwrapped the first test and carefully read the instructions. She had to wipe her eyes a few times to clear the tears from her view, but she finally put herself into testing position. She nearly dropped the test into the toilet when her cell phone in her jeans pocket rang, its tone echoing off the tiles of the bathroom.

She let out a startled squeak and fumbled in her jeans that she had left on the floor and answered it, knowing it was The Joker checking on her.

"Hullo," she grunted as she struggled to keep the phone between her cheek and shoulder as she continued the test.

"Hey, gorgeous," he said. "How's the Plant?"

Harley grinned nervously. "Uh, she's fine..."

The Joker was quiet a moment and then said, "Is that an echo?"

She giggled. "I'm on the potty, Puddin'."

"What?" he softly chuckled. "Why the hell do I always catch you in the bathroom?"

"Maybe you have some deep subconscious sexual fetish-"

"Forget that psych 101 bullshit," he interrupted her, "You leave there at eight o clock, you hear me?"

Harley rolled her eyes. "I know, Pud. I told the kid to pick me up then." There was a brief moment of silence and Harley smiled, knowing that The Joker was still apprehensive. "I promise, baby."

He sighed. "See you later, then." Harley closed her phone and shook her head. She was used to his customary 'courtesy' calls, and she knew that he would give her one that day while she was at her only friend's place. Harley concluded that he only did that because it was always difficult to coax her back home as she sometimes went to her friend after they had bad fights.

A while later, Ivy was looking at her watch. "Harley, you've been in there for half an hour. What, did you miss?"

Harley came out of the bathroom, her face nearly a pale green. Ivy's eyes widened. "Harl?"

She didn't answer but just walked back to the living room and plopped herself down onto the loveseat again. Ivy sat beside her and placed her hand on her back. "Harley?" Ivy soon realized that her friend was crying again and a nervous lump soon rested in her throat. "Oh, wow...I guess you're...absolutely sure this time, I gather..."

Harley lifted her moist eyes to Ivy and sniffed loudly. "Positive."


	2. Chapter 2

Harley sighed as she reclined on the sofa and tried to be interested in her magazine. However, as she sat in the empty theater, her thoughts continued to drift to the events earlier that day, but mostly of how she was going to reveal what she had discovered.

She had always wondered what their life would be like with a child. It was an issue that was tough to discuss with The Joker as he had admitted, much to her surprise, that he had mixed feelings about raising children, but it would always end with him shutting her down, exasperated at her persistence. Sometimes they would have arguments on into the night and soon go to bed with the issue unresolved, with him sleeping in his study and her drifting to sleep with tears in her eyes.

She shook the memory out of her head as she heard the front door open and the muddled sounds of The Joker's men chattering amongst themselves outside. Harley sat up straighter and pretended to read her magazine, but was interrupted when she heard The Joker's footsteps draw closer to her.

Her heart started to pound nervously as his gloved hand met the top of her head, and she turned her eyes up to him as his fingers glided through her hair. She forced a smile toward his tired glare and said quietly, "Hey, Mistah J."

The Joker smirked as he took off his coat and threw it across the coffee table. "Hi," his voice responded in a deep, exhausted tone. He plopped onto the sofa next to her and turned on the television to watch the news, possibly of the warehouse that had suddenly and mysteriously erupted in flames.

Harley continued to read her magazine until his voice came to her, "How was 'girl-time?'"

She quickly lifted her head. "Fine, fine..." She could see, from the corner of her eye, as she looked into her lap again that The Joker was looking at her as she sat, legs crossed, in her short red pajama shorts.

"Come here," he said, softly.

Harley held back a moment, but soon found herself being eased into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and continued to stare at the news program. Harley didn't say anything, but just dropped her magazine to the floor and watched the television with him.

Neither of them said a word as they watched and when the program was over twenty minutes later, The Joker suddenly shifted his arms under her and hoisted himself to his feet, making her squeal. "Puddin'!"

"Bedtime!" he announced officially as Harley playfully kicked her legs as he carried her up the stairs and into the bedroom.

The Joker closed the door behind them and gently lay Harley down on the bed. She moaned in a gleeful tone as he straightened up and took off his vest, bringing down his suspenders. Harley started to get up to take off her top, but he stopped her by shoving her onto her back again. "Patience, baby doll," he said in a playful tone.

She obeyed, but let her foot glide up his trouser leg and stop at his crotch. "Oh!" she said, pretending to be shocked. "Oh, I think Daddy missed me today..." she told him as she rubbed his hardened member through his pinstripes.

He unbuttoned his shirt and then grabbed her foot. He placed his lips on the sole of it and ran quick kisses from her foot and down the length of her leg until he was crouched in front of her.

He hooked his fingers into her shorts and slowly pulled them off along with her lacy black panties as he gave an approving growl. He then pulled the straps of her tank top down from her shoulders and her breasts bounced out of her top, and she smiled and bit her bottom lip coquettishly as he leaned in and flicked his tongue across her left nipple. She gasped and squirmed underneath him as he grabbed her other breast and squeezed.

He realized that Harley had been right about him missing her as he reached down and roughly inserted a finger into her, and she let out a loud moan as her hands gripped the back of his neck. He sucked hard on her nipple and then moved downward where his tongue found her clitoris. Harley couldn't stop her loud whine as he lapped at her and The Joker soon succumbed to the urge of flipping her onto her stomach and unzipping his pants.

Harley gripped the comforter he entered her and she let out an even louder moan as he moved his hips slowly. "Oh, baby girl..." came his growl and the skin on Harley's neck shivered as his satisfied tone rang in her ears.

"Daddy..." she managed to gasp out as he thrust harder. "Yeah..." She put her face in the comforter to muffle her moans that were soon turning into screams as The Joker pounded harder as he gripped her hips.

He soon finished with a fulfilled sigh and he relaxed his hold on her and caressed her lower back. "Harley," was all he simply said and he stood behind her as he worked on steadying his breathing.

Harley crossed her arms and craned her neck to look at him, and when she did, she saw him bend toward her and let her lips meet his.

Minutes later,Harley sat up in her place on the bed filing her fingernails as The Joker sat at the end in his boxer shorts and checkered socks, sharpening a few of his knives. The sound of the blade slowly gritting across the whetstone made her bite her lip nervously, but she kept her eyes to her grooming.

The urge to tell him what she had discovered was resting as a tight ball in her throat, and it ached to lurch forward.

She had to tell him soon. She had promised herself this. However, Harley knew she had to catch him at the right time and seeing as how he was busy with his blades, she knew this was not one.

Harley let out a despaired sigh and The Joker stopped honing his last blade and turned to her. "What was that for?" he asked in a tired voice.

Her eyes grew wide when she realized what she had done. "Oh," she started. "Nothin', Pud. Just sleepy, is all." She placed her nail file on her bedside table and finally reclined against her pillow. She put her arms over her head and let out a relieved moan as she stretched, making The Joker chuckle.

He put away his whetstone and sheathed his blades, and as he stood at the end of the bed, he carefully moved his tools under the mattress.

She watched as he cracked his knuckles and walked to the bathroom to wash his face. Harley's heart started to pound. It was near bedtime and she knew that if she didn't tell him then another day would go by and possibly another night with her lying to him. Tears threatened to sting her eyes as she thought of this.

Minutes later, The Joker came out of the bathroom and walked to the foot of the bed and he slowly crawled toward her, his eyes gazing at her seductively. She bit her lip and gave a soft giggle. "Well," she whispered, trying to ease her tension. "Someone's been lonely today..."

He didn't respond but just gave her hungry kisses on her thighs as he crawled closer to her. Harley could smell his cologne-scented face wash and she let out a soft whimper as his kisses soon found her neck.

He put his lips to her ear and purred, "What makes you say that?"

His hot breath gave her a surge of aroused adrenaline and she gently stopped him.

"Wait…"

The Joker chuckled. "Oh, come on, baby. Don't be shy."

She took a deep breath as his lips dug into her neck. "No, really, Puddin'. Stop it."

"Puddin' doesn't want to stop it..." he growled in her ear, and a chill in her spine was roused by his tone and she finally obtained her strength.

"No!" she said firmly, slightly pushing him off her.

Her heart pounded in her throat as he glared at her with an expression of want mixed with rising anger. He sighed heavily as they continued to lock eyes, and he finally said, in an eerily calm tone, "What's the matter, _sweetheart_?"

"I..." she began, but her tongue seemed to suddenly stick to the roof of her mouth, giving The Joker more opportunity to express his disappointment.

"You didn't seem so hesitant earlier," he growled, his grip on her thigh tightening and his fingernails digging into her skin. "Oh, no, you practically had your legs wide open for me when I came home..."

"Daddy, no. I want to do it, but..."

"What?" he demanded, hotly.

"I want to...I wanna talk..." Harley managed to spit out, but The Joker groaned in annoyance.

"Just like a fucking woman..." he mumbled.

Harley gave him an offended look. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"So, what do you wanna talk about then? My feelings? My hopes and dreams?"

"Just because your woman wants to talk, you automatically assume..."

The Joker stood up and threw his hands in the air in frustration. "It's always that way with you, Harley! You always wanna stop when things get too exciting! Why do you think it was so fucking difficult to make a move on you in Arkham? You kept stopping me so we could talk about it!"

"And yet you did!" Harley shouted. "Which is what you're doing right now, so at least hear what I have to say. Jesus Christ, I already have to listen to _you!"_

A sound smack echoed in the bedroom and Harley realized that it was connected with the sudden, sharp sting in her left cheek. Before she could react, The Joker was suddenly on the bed again, this time straddling her with a knife to her mouth. "You ungrateful whore," he growled. "Maybe I can do us both a favor...and cut out that spiteful little tongue you carry in that empty head of yours..."

Harley tried to push him off her, but he held down her wrists with one of his hands as he balanced the flat of the blade against her bottom lip. "Daddy..." she whispered, her breath fogging the knife. "Don't do this...you can't..."

With a quick flick of his fingers, he left a tiny knick in her lip, making her whimper and her tears began to escape her eyes. "Oh, can't I?" he asked, sarcastically. "And why's that?"

"You can't!" she screamed, and his fist met her cheekbone and she hid her face in her pillow and sobbed.

"Look at me, Harley!" The Joker demanded. He went to grab her to turn her over, but stopped when he heard her muffle something in her pillow that was mixed with a scream. He couldn't make out what it was, but she was repeating it and the muffled tones were pounding in his ears. He threw his knife onto the floor and grabbed a handful of her hair and raised her face from the pillow. "What was that, darling?" he snarled.

Blood trickled from her cut lip and down her chin as she sobbed her answer, "I'm pregnant!"


	3. Chapter 3

The Joker's men froze in their conversation as they stood outside of the theater, and they turned their heads to the window from which Harley's desperate outburst emitted. The young rookie, Angus, had his jaw slack and Buddy, Ringo and Townshend all muttered the same expletive under their breaths. Elvis, internally cringing with anger and anxiety as he listened to the couple's tumult, suddenly felt sick rising into his throat and ran to the chain link fence on one side of the abandoned lot.

"Hey, man! Where you goin'? It's just startin' to get good!" Ringo said with a derisive snicker as the kid climbed over the fence and into the alley.

"Not cool," Townshend muttered through gritted teeth as he cut a glare at the still chuckling goon.

Back inside the bedroom, The Joker felt as if time itself had stopped. He let go of the hold he had in her long hair and listened as she tried to catch her breath with her face still in her pillow.

"What?" he whispered.

Harley slowly lifted her face and turned to him, blood from her lip quickly drying into a thin mass as they locked eyes. She swallowed hard and answered with a softer whisper, "I'm…pregnant."

He cut her a suspicious sideways glance, not taking his eyes off of her as he slowly stood up and took a step away from the bed. "You're lying..." he growled.

She stood up and inched toward him and put her hand in his, the same hand that had struck her cheekbone just seconds ago. "No..." she whimpered. "I'm not...I-I'm going to have a baby."

He quickly pulled his hand away. "What?" he repeated and darted his eyes, severely taken aback from this revelation. "I don't...What do you…? You stupid, little-!"

Harley took a deep breath to rein back more tears and calmly continued, "Mistah J. Please. I don't wanna fight about this. I know we weren't careful like usual, but-"

"What's this 'we' shit?" he shouted. "I'm not the one on The Pill, Harley!"

"I didn't get it refilled...I forgot...we've been out a lot and I didn't think..."

"Of course you didn't think! You never do!" The Joker started to pace in front of the open window and quickly began to put his shirt back on as he belted, "How could you do this to me, Harley?"

Harley's eyes began to fill with tears. "To you? This kinda stuff takes two, ya know!" she shouted back at him, not really caring anymore about the consequence of doing so.

He stopped pacing and changed into his pinstripe pants again. "We're gonna fix this, girl," he snarled, slipping on his shoes. His anger was giving him a sick feeling in his stomach, a sensation he didn't usually have when he was in this kind of mood, and it made him angrier.

Harley's heart began to pound in her chest. She knew what he was implying. "It's _our_ baby, Puddin'," she whimpered.

"It's our _mistake_!" he bellowed at her, making her slump back onto the bed as the tears finally left her eyes again.

She could feel her heart cramping at these words and suddenly thought of all the times that he had ever given her this kind of pain, all the times that he dominated her and left her speechless.

But something inside her, besides the miracle she was now carrying, made her open her mouth in protest.

"I am _not_ killing our baby!"

The Joker glared darkly at her, half surprised at her sudden outburst but mostly frustrated at the denial of his impending plan.

Harley stood her ground, however, under his cold eyes. "It's half mine...half yours," she said quietly. "Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

Something stirred in The Joker's chest, an uneasy twitch that was mixed with anxiety and slight awe. Nevertheless, he carefully walked around her and left her sitting on the bed, and Harley finally hanged her head in a quiet sob as she heard his footsteps bound down the stairs behind the slammed door.

He burst through the front door, making his men jump in surprise. Angus made the mistake of making eye contact with his boss, and The Joker pushed him shoulders-first against the hard brick of the theater.

"Your gun," his boss said quietly. Angus gulped as he stared into The Joker's deathly gaze. "Give it to me..."

Angus nodded and quickly handed over his weapon, and as soon as it was received, his boss pivoted, the gun gripped to his side, and stomped away from the group of nervous henchmen toward the back of his home where there was a small patch of dead grass.

The patch was littered with broken glass and bits of paper and The Joker stopped in the middle of it and, seeing the far wooden fence that was beyond repair, he took aim at one of its posts and angrily began firing.

The shots reverberated in the air as Harley continued to sob into her pillow that she clutched to her chest. The echoes terrified her, but she was grateful that she wasn't the one on the receiving end.

When the clip emptied, he continued squeezing the trigger until he realized that he was out of ammunition, but he became angrier when he also discovered that he didn't feel any better. He roared as he threw the gun past the fence and began shouting a string of swears and curses toward the night skyline of Gotham.

He finally stopped and began to slowly pant as he placed his hands on his knees and stared at the dead grass at his feet. After a moment, he became conscious of the fact that a slight relaxation began to travel into his tense muscles and he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as he thought back to Harley who was no doubt more anxious than he was at that moment.

He knew he had said awful things to her just a few minutes ago, and although he did mean them, he couldn't help but feel slight dread in the sting of his words.

The Joker shook his head as he stood up straight and stared at the skyline at which he had just insulted. He sighed as he chuckled to himself. "A kid?" He put a hand to his temple and tried to massage away the headache that was threatening to make roost. "We can't...not here...not now..."

He growled again, "I knew it...I fucking knew it! All that talk we had about babies...she was up to something...that sneaky little bitch!"

He crossed his arms as a relaxed feeling in his muscles began to spread. He shook his head again, smiling. "I guess...since it's my own...maybe it wouldn't be so bad...it's _my_ kid, after all."

His smile grew bigger. "Yeah...mine. I can teach him things..." He chuckled again as he thought of the notion of a child that could carry on his legacy. The notion that he could nurture a new generation of chaos.

His chuckle instantly grew into a cackle.

The laughter flowed up the stairs with his footsteps that soon entered the bedroom, and Harley raised her now red eyes to see The Joker coming over to her. She brought her knees up to her chest and waited for another slap, but was startled when she felt his hands grab her shoulders. She squealed from the tingle in the cut on her lip as he pulled her to him and kissed her deeply.

When he finally pulled away from her, their eyes locked again, but this time she couldn't feel the menacing chill emanate from his dark eyes as she had earlier. The Joker swept a gentle thumb across the unscathed skin of her bottom lip and licked his own as he asked, softly, "It _is_ mine...right?"

"Of course it is!" Harley answered immediately grinning as the tension in her chest dissolved when she spied the quiet relief in his glare and the subtle grin on his scarred face. "Oh...Puddin'..." Harley sighed in her own relief and she pressed herself into his chest and smiled as she felt him rest his nose in her hair.

The Joker gently lifted her face to him again and she smiled as he said, "Promise me you won't get too fat."

Harley burst into a fit of giggling, but tried to hide it by saying, "That's kinda mean, Mistah J."

**Three months pregnant**

The Joker had to admit that he was intrigued by the pregnancy as all Harley ever did was talk about everything relating to babies.

"We'll need to get a good crib, but one that's also small enough to fit in the corner of the bedroom. Oh! Maybe we can find one that can convert into a bed when he gets older! I'll need to get a diaper pail and a changing table and lots and lots of bibs..."

In fact, one corner of their bedroom was already more prepared than The Joker. "Harl," he had grumbled one night as he looked at the pile of baby supplies from his place on the bed. "The kid isn't even here yet and already you have a baby shrine. We still have six months!" Harley would just ignore him and continue to fold and re-fold the burp cloths.

The Joker felt a slight change in him while he was surrounded by onesies and pacifiers. He would still stay up late in his study concocting new plans for the next job, but while he was scribbling or cutting away, he would continually take a break and check to see how Harley was doing, whether she was resting in the bed or even getting a glass of milk in the kitchen.

One night, while Harley was darning one of The Joker's socks while sitting on the sofa, she had realized that Elvis hadn't been around very much. She mentioned this to The Joker as he sat rubbing her toes on the other end of the couch. He gave her a small scowl and replied, "I dunno, doll...he just better hope I don't find him."

Harley smirked as she returned to her darning. Seconds later, she moaned lightly, making The Joker turn his head. "What's wrong?" he asked, creasing his brow in slight concern.

"Oooh," she moaned again. "I just got a weird craving..."

The Joker chuckled. "Yeah?"

She licked her lips and batted her lashes at him. "Daddy? Will you do me a huge favor, please?"

He smiled at her. "Sure," he said. "What can Daddy get his babies to make them feel better?"

"Rocky Road and pickles," she said in a serious tone.

All he could do was blink. "Come again?"

"Please, Puddin'! I'm craving it. Go get some for me, please."

"Are you serious?" The Joker said. "That's disgusting."

"I know!" Harley exclaimed. "It's weird, but I want it. Please, Daddy..."

He sighed and shook his head. "I'll get the rookie to do it..." He stood up from his seat on the sofa and headed to the front door. He pulled out a wad of bills from his pocket and met his men as he opened it. "Hey, kid!" he shouted and the young rookie trotted nervously over to his Boss. "Here. Go get princess some Rocky Road ice cream and a big jar of pickles."

The kid, Angus, sneered in disgust, but nodded. "Um...sure, Boss."

"And chocolate milk, please!" came Harley's shout from the den.

"You heard her," The Joker muttered and shut the door before he could hear his men give disgusted noises.

An hour later, The Joker stared at his girlfriend in disbelief as she shoveled ice cream into her mouth while alternating bites of a giant, crunchy pickle between spoonfuls. She paused and finally met his eyes. "What?" she asked, a big bite of sugary, sour pickle in her mouth.

"That fucking stinks," The Joker muttered, but Harley just shrugged and took a bigger bite of her snack.

**Six months pregnant**

"Aren't you excited, Pud?" Harley asked The Joker as he ate his bowl of cereal and read the paper.

Without looking up, he said "About what?"

Harley let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm going to Dr. Stein today to find out the sex of the baby! Remember?" He did remember and he gave her a sly grin.

Dr. Stein was recommended by a Family The Joker had ties with, and even though Harley knew she needed to go for the health of her and the baby, he had to keep reassuring her that the good doctor didn't operate out of an abandoned warehouse.

"Look, Harl," he had said. "You're going to see this guy because I may be very familiar with your lady parts, but there's no way I'm delivering this kid. End of discussion."

During their first visit, Harley warmed up to the doctor immediately. "Don't vorry, dahling," he said to her in his thick, Yiddish accent. "I'm gonna make sure you're comfortable throughout all the tests and make sure we deliver this little _eyfele_ on time."

Harley was now trying to convince The Joker to set aside his day's plans to share this moment with her. "Daddy, come on..."

"Lover, I can't..." he mumbled as he folded his paper and stood up, placing his hand on her big belly.

She bit her lip as she placed her hand on his. "But...I'm scared..." Their eyes met and he grinned, knowing that she was nervous to find out why the baby hadn't kicked yet.

"Everything's fine, Harl. It'll move when it wants to..."

"But," she sighed. "It's too late...it should be kicking my ass by now..."

The Joker chuckled and placed his other hand under her maternity shirt and moved it in a soothing, circular motion, then he suddenly paused, stopping under her navel. "Alright...I'll go."

Harley's smile grew wide across her face. "You will?" Before he could answer, she threw her arms around his neck, her belly hitting his and making him almost lose his footing from the force.

Half an hour later, he was sitting beside her as she lay on the examination table, her heels in stirrups as she lay nude under her paper gown. He quit thumping the pump of the blood pressure cuff and looked around the room until his eyes rested on her current state.

"That's attractive," he quipped, making her click her tongue against her teeth in annoyance.

After what seemed another half hour, they were finally greeted by the doctor, who announced boisterously, "_Gelibte_! How is everything, my love? Oh, and Papa is here! Velcome!" He quickly shook The Joker's hand as he nervously smiled.

"Now," Dr. Stein began. "Let's take a look at dis little miracle, huh?"

"Uh, Doctor," Harley interrupted. "We have a small concern..."

"Oh?" he said, preparing the stethoscope around his neck and began to listen to her heart.

"Yeah, the baby hasn't kicked yet and, well...we're just a bit worried that..."

He quickly held up his hand to stop her and placed his stethoscope to her belly and Harley held her breath. "Uh huh. Uh huh…uh huh. Okay, there's still a baby in there."

The Joker gave a small grin as Harley finally exhaled. "Just a little shy, maybe," the doctor continued. "Tell me, Papa," he looked at The Joker. "Do you ever talk to the little one?"

"What?" he instantly rejoined, confusedly.

"No!" Harley interjected. "He should, huh? According to my baby books, he has to talk to the baby while it's still in the womb."

"I'm sorry," The Joker said. "Did I miss something?"

"You need to talk to the baby, Puddin'," Harley told him matter-of-factly. "It helps it connect with you before it's born."

"Harley, that's ridiculous! I'm not talkin' to your stomach," he sneered.

She began to grow frustrated. "Mistah J! If you care about giving this baby any kind of advantages before it comes into the world, then you-"

"Don't turn this into couples' therapy, Harl!"

"Please, you two!" Dr. Stein intervened. "Papa's right, dahling. Leave it for home. It's really no big deal. But, Papa, do please try to talk to the belly. It does help."

The Joker sighed impatiently but grabbed Harley's hand and caressed her knuckles with his thumb as she turned her blue eyes to him, apologetically. He grinned and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.

"Now," Dr. Stein announced as he put on his gloves and turned on a huge machine beside Harley. He clapped his hands together. "Are we ready to see the little bundle of joy?" Harley nodded with glee as The Joker squeezed her hand.

After a few moments, the transducer picked up small movement and Dr. Stein pointed it out, saying, "Do you see that, Miss Quinn?" Harley looked and shrugged. "That's a hand."

The Joker's grin was unconsciously turning into a full smile as he looked from the screen to Harley's joyous face.

"Look, there's the profile of the face, there," he continued.

"Oh, Pud," Harley sighed, tears growing in her eyes. "It has your nose..."

Dr. Stein paused. "Bingo!" he suddenly exclaimed. The Joker raised a curious eyebrow as he tried to determine what had been found. His smile suddenly grew wider when he spotted it and then asked, "Doc...is that what I think it is?"

Dr. Stein smiled back at him, but before he could answer, Harley squealed with delight, "It's a boy! Oh my God, we're having a boy!"


	4. Chapter 4

"I feel ridiculous," The Joker mumbled as he knelt in front of Harley as she sat at the end of their bed, her nightgown hiked over her belly.

"Just start talking to him, Pud," Harley said simply.

"Can't I do that after he's born?" he sighed as he looked up at her, shifting himself to sit on the floor and crossing his legs.

Harley sighed in frustration. "Dr. Stein said that may be the reason why he isn't kicking. There isn't any external stimulus-"

He closed his eyes and held up his hands. "I know, babe; I was there, remember?" Harley crossed her arms in a huff and pursed her lips.

The Joker rolled his eyes. "Fine...how do you talk to a belly, then?"

Harley chuckled. "Don't talk to my belly. Talk to your son." He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He was already tired from all of the excitement and he was anxious, too, about the fact the baby hadn't moved, but he really needed to rest.

"Okay," he said and turned his head to her belly. He opened his mouth to say something and then stopped himself. He licked his lips and tried again, but then shrugged. "Harl..."

Harley smiled. "Just say the first thing that comes into your head."

He raised his eyebrow at her again. "Cupcake, do ya know who you're talking to?" Harley gave him an annoyed look. He sighed again and said to her belly, "Uh…hey, kid. Hot enough in there for ya?"

Harley giggled. "That's it," he said, frustrated. "If you're gonna laugh at me, I'm not gonna do it."

He started to get up, but Harley put her hand on his shoulder and made him sit again. "No! I'm sorry, Puddin'. It was just so cute."

"Well, did he do anything?" he asked.

She shook her head and seeing The Joker's frustration, she suggested, "Tell him a joke or something."

The Joker laughed. "One of _my_ jokes? C'mon, Harl." He paused for a moment and then looked up at her. "There were these two muffins-"

"Tell _him_, not me," Harley interrupted, motioning to her stomach.

The Joker cleared his throat and began again, "There were these two muffins baking in an oven. One muffin says to the other 'Sure is hot in here.' And the other muffin says, 'Holy shit! A talking muffin!'"

There was a pause. "That was lame," she snickered, but she soon couldn't contain her giggles.

"Lame, huh? Is that why you're about to wet yourself?" he teased.

Harley stopped and gave him a grin. "Well, that didn't work. Try another one."

The Joker thought for a moment and then said, "Ok. This old drunk came staggering along the road. He passed a woman who was walking with her young child. 'Lady, that's the ugliest kid I've ever seen. God damn!' As the drunk wandered off, the lady burst into tears. Just then, a mailman came to her rescue. 'What's the matter, madam?' he asked. She said, 'I've just been horribly insulted.' 'There, there,' said the mailman. 'Dry your eyes with this tissue, and here's a banana for your monkey.'"

Harley burst out laughing. "Babe, that's terrible!"

The Joker looked at her, confused. "You always say that about my jokes, but yet you laugh. I don't understand you," he said with a big smile. Harley wiped a tear from her eye and caught her breath.

He put his hand on her belly. "Nothing?" he asked. Harley shook her head and he chuckled, "This is one stubborn kid."

Harley returned his laugh. "Takes after someone I know..."

"Oh, God. Just what we need. Another _you_!" He grinned at her as she laughed again and kissed her cheek. He helped her to her feet and she let her night gown drape over her belly as she waddled to her side of the bed. The Joker stopped her from getting under the sheets by putting his hand on her hips and kissing her shoulder. "Goin' to sleep, baby doll?" he asked her as he brushed her hair off her neck and put gentle kisses on her soft skin.

She gave him a soft moan and said, "Not yet. I'm gonna finish a chapter in my baby book." She let herself plop down onto the bed and she was quiet for a moment. Then, lifting her blue eyes to The Joker, she whispered, "I'm getting nervous..."

The Joker smirked. He didn't want to admit that, as the day of delivery drew nearer, he was nervous, too.

He caressed her cheek. "You'll be fine," he reassured her, then he spotted a notepad under her book and pulled it out. "What's this?" he asked.

She picked it up. "Oh, it's just a list of names..."

He glared at her in silence and her lips parted in surprise. "What?" she asked, softly.

The Joker took a deep breath and licked his lips. "We're giving him your last name," The Joker said. Harley simply nodded.

He looked down the list of names. "Ugh. Simon? No thanks." He took her pen and crossed it off of her list.

Harley laughed. "Hey! Wait a minute! Why not?"

He scanned the list again. "Dylan? You mean like Bob?" She nodded and smiled. He looked at her. "Hmmm…nope!" he said as he crossed out the name.

"Baby! Stop it!" she laughed.

"Hang on, babe. This is serious." He scanned the list again as he playfully held her back. "Charlie? Oh, _hell_ no!"

He scribbled the name off the list and Harley grabbed the pen from him. "Geez! Go scribble stuff in your study! Weirdo..."

"What'd you say, little girl?" He put his lips to her neck and blew a raspberry onto her skin. She squealed at how much it tickled and kicked her legs.

He blew a few more into her neck when she suddenly stopped him. "Puddin'! Wait…!"

"Too much, darlin'?" She grabbed his hand as she lifted her gown again. He gave her a confused look but his puzzlement was relieved as she placed his hand on her belly again.

The baby was kicking.

He felt something bump his hand and started back at first. He looked down at Harley with wide eyes and she grinned as he said, "I think we woke him up." They shared a chuckle and The Joker now had both hands on her belly, moving them all around to make sure he didn't miss a kick or a punch.

After a few minutes, the baby stopped and The Joker noticed that Harley was crying. He rubbed her leg. "Hey, Harl, shhh. It's okay...see? I told you everything was fine."

Harley didn't speak, but nodded as he kissed her hands and wiped a few strands of hair from her forehead. "Don't stay up late, please," she said softly.

He sighed. "Don't _you_ stay up late." He pulled the covers over her belly and kissed her cheek. "Go to sleep," he said as he closed the bedroom door behind him, and Harley turned off her light as she listened to his footsteps head to his study.

**Eight and half months pregnant**

The Joker's henchmen were sitting at the kitchen table one evening waiting for The Boss to come downstairs. Although The Joker didn't like her up all the time because of her condition, Harley still took the time to brew a pot of coffee for their late night.

"Fresh java, boys!" she announced as they had come in one by one. "Drink up because Mistah J will want you guys wide awake tonight."

Townshend, The Joker's driver, grinned as he took a hot mug from his hostess. "Harley, come on. You don't need to do this anymore. The Boss'll flip if he caught you not resting."

Harley huffed. "I'm fine, now, take a seat and start guzzlin'. Mistah J will be down in a bit."

The men slowly sipped their evening fuel and The Joker descended the stairs, and, seeing Harley try to balance Half and Half, milk, and a cup of sugar in her hands, rushed to her side. After he made sure her handful was settled onto the table, he saw to it that his pregnant girlfriend was settled on the sofa in the den.

"Harl, what did I tell you this morning?" he asked in an annoyed, but concerned tone.

"Oh, Puddin'," she giggled. "I'm fine. Really..." But as she bent to take a seat on the couch, she felt a sharp pain in her side and hissed. "Ooh...ouch..."

The Joker's eyes grew wide. "What the hell was that?"

She waved him away. "Nothing, I'm okay..."

"No, you're having a stitch or something." The Joker's worried look now had turned into a frustrated expression.

He had been on edge the past week because Harley had been getting these kinds of cramps when she was trying to busy herself with chores like laundry while he was out. However, The Joker had stated that he would rather keep his dirty undergarments than her have go into early labor in the middle of their utility room.

"Baby, really," Harley grunted as she propped her feet in front of her on the sofa. "Go on; I'll be going to bed soon anyway."

He sighed and started to walk back to the kitchen table, but pivoted to look at Harley who was now trying to massage away the pain that was still in her side.

"Angus!" he suddenly belted, making the kid jump. "You're staying here tonight..."

Harley quickly turned her head toward him as Angus started to stand up from his seat. "No, Puddin'! That isn't necessary." She looked at the young henchman and cooed, "Drink your coffee, Gus. I don't need a babysitter."

The Joker growled at Angus. "No, you're staying here!" The kid promptly stood up again, but Harley interrupted.

"Drink your coffee!" she hollered, her voice echoing around the theater.

They all stared at her in disbelief, seeing as how her voice had suddenly grown deeper with that abrupt demand, and she was now taking slow, deep breaths as she glowered back at them.

Angus merely slurped his coffee, rather loudly, as he slowly sat in his chair again.

The Joker eyed her and licked his lips, saying, "Boys! Get the car ready...I'll be out shortly..."

Harley kept her gaze locked on her angry boyfriend as his men quickly shuffled out the front door, Angus lingering behind and still unsure of his agenda. One curt glance from The Joker made him follow the three men who were now waiting in the still night air.

The Joker slowly walked over to the sofa and, when he had reached Harley's side, he knelt down next to her. His dark eyes pierced her blue ones and she sniffed as she folded her hands calmly in her lap. "Go ahead, Mistah J. Hit me..."

The challenge made him furrow his brow in surprise. "What? I'm not gonna-"

"You never hesitated before," she pointed out. "Even in the second trimester-"

"Are you gonna hold that over my head now every time we have an argument?" he snapped.

Harley looked away and shrugged. "Is it working?"

His lips parted in surprise, not at her nerve, but of the fact that it was indeed working on him.

When she was five months into the pregnancy and her mood was becoming more unpredictable, he had struck her across the face, forcing her back-first into the bedroom wall. He remembered the frightened look in her eyes, a look that she had never held when he had hit her. She cried the rest of the night and The Joker didn't speak much the next day.

Now, he hanged his head and placed his hand on her belly. "I can't believe you, Harl...I said that I was-"

"Whatever," her voice cracked as she held back tears.

"Fine! Whatever, Harley! I have shit to do..." he snarled as he stood up and stomped to the door.

Several hours later, Harley awoke to the sharp pain that was in her side traveling to her lower back, where it pressed into her like a heavy weight. She groaned in pain as she shot upright and placed one hand on her back and one on her belly. "Oh, God...breathe, Harl..." she mumbled to herself.

She took in slow breaths and thought the pain had ceased, but it soon bounced back again and traveled down her legs. "Ahhh!" she screamed. "Puddin'!" There was silence and she screamed louder. "Mistah J! Oooh, God!"

Harley remembered the ibuprofen in her first aid bag and lifted the sheets to go into the bathroom, but shrieked when she saw the pool of liquid that had soaked into the mattress around her legs.

"No! Not right now..." she pleaded to the impatient labor pains that were now taking place. Tears started to glisten her eyes as she struggled to her feet. "Puddin'...she whimpered as she picked up her cell phone.

**Maroni's**

"So, like I said, Sal," The Joker said with a sly grin. "I take care of the nitty gritty part of the job...and the profits are split equally."

Sal Maroni nodded, pursing his lips agreeably. "Sounds do-able, clown. How do I know this ain't some kinda setup?"

The Joker suddenly laughed. "How interesting that a mobster would be worried about a setup?" He took a breath and continued, "Don't worry, Sal. Your men can join us in the fun. In fact-" He was interrupted by the sudden vibrating of his phone and he grunted shortly as he reached into his coat pocket and turned it off.

**Back at the theater**

"Puddin', please!" she screamed at the phone as she sat on the bathroom floor, leaning against the bathtub.

The tears were flowing steadily from her eyes as the pain traveled through her hips, and her heart pounded as she tried to call The Joker again. The ringing was cut off once more and she screamed and threw the phone against the wall.

She began to sob loudly and threw back her head, screaming in pain, "Mistah Jaaay! Please!"

She soon caught her breath and reached for her phone. Harley wiped her face with a nearby towel from a rack and dialed. After a few rings, an answer finally came. "Hello?"

"Ivy!" Harley cried. "Help me!"

"Harley! What's the matter?" came Ivy's nervous voice.

"It's time...it's time..." was all she could say. "I can't find Mistah J...he isn't answering his phone..."

"What!" Ivy shouted. "You mean he went out on a job even though you were close to labor? What a damn-"

"Ahhhhh!" Harley screamed in pain. "I need Dr. Stein! Oh, God! I'm so scared!"

"Hold on, girl! I'm coming over there. You call the doctor!"

**Half an hour later**

The Joker grinned to himself as they drove from Maroni's bar, satisfied at the deal that was made. He took out his cell phone to see his multiple missed calls from Harley, and he shook his head. "Geez, girl," he mumbled to himself. "Ten calls and only one voicemail...women..."

However, his frustrated expression soon changed to that of shock when Ivy's voice rang in his ears from the phone.

"Harley! Calm down, honey! The doctor will be here soon! Joker! Where the fuck are you? You-what? No, Harley, I won't be nice to him! He left you to give birth in the bathtub!"

He didn't wait for the message to end but abruptly shut his phone. "Home! Now!" he growled at Townshend, and the young driver was soon speeding through the dead streets.


	5. Chapter 5

He arrived to the sound of screaming in the bedroom and he stripped himself of his coat and rushed up the stairs. "Harley!" he called out as he threw open the bedroom door.

"Puddin!" came her voice, and he found her now reclining in the bathtub with Ivy by her side and her feet propped onto both sides.

The Joker was speechless. He knew this day was coming, but the sudden reality of the present made him realize that he wasn't ready to take all this in just yet. "I...what can I do?"

Ivy sneered. "You can go to hell, is what you can do..."

The Joker returned her look. "I'm sorry, Plant. You have something to say?"

"I have plenty of things to say!"

"Guys, please!" Harley screamed. "Can you just forget for a few hours that you hate each others' guts? I'm in immense pain here!"

"Harley," The Joker said, taking her hand. "Come on, you need to get in the bed."

"It's a mess, Pud," she panted. "My water broke there...I'm sorry, baby..."

"Don't worry about that," he said, calmly. "You don't need to be-"

"No! It hurts to move!" Harley sobbed and gripped his hand.

He growled quietly as he looked around. Finally, he shot up and threw open the linen cabinet and grabbed an armful of towels. "Harley, I'm gonna turn on the water..."

She took a deep breath and looked at him. "Huh?"

"It'll help the pain and be easier for the baby..." he quickly explained and turned on the faucet to let the warm water fill the tub.

Harley smiled wide at him. "Oh, Puddin'...you read my baby book?"

The Joker looked back at her and then cut a quick glance at the smug look on Ivy's face. He cleared his throat. "I skimmed a little bit..."

"Oh...baby..." Harley swooned lovingly, but was suddenly interrupted by another contraction.

An hour later, after he replenished the tub with more warm water, The Joker paced the bathroom as Ivy held Harley's hand. "Where the hell is the doctor?" he growled.

"He said...he'd be here soon, Puddin'..." Harley managed to gasp. "Oh, God...this hurts..." Her voice was becoming frail from her screaming and her tone was weak.

The Joker came to her and Harley looked up at him pitifully. "I can't do this..." she said meekly.

"Yes, you can..."

She shook her head as he chuckled. "Harl, you can kick asses of guys three times your size...and you're scared of a little baby?"

Minutes later, Dr. Stein entered the bathroom, his bags at his side. "Ok, I'm here, dahling. Where's the fire?" he said.

"I'm giving birth to it!" she yelled in both frustration and instant relief.

Dr. Stein laughed. "I never get tired of this job," he joked as he set his bags on the bathroom counter. He took a long glance at Harley's situation and he sighed. "So, a water birth, eh? This'll be a first for me, too, my dear."

He opened his medical bag and extracted his stethoscope. He placed it around his neck and then put on his gloves. "When did your contractions start?"

Harley thought a moment. "About three hours ago...they're getting closer, too, Doc..."

"Vonderful!" he exclaimed as he knelt beside the tub. "That means it's gonna happen real soon..."

"Oh, God," Harley moaned. "I can't do this..."

"Vell, it's a bit too late to back out now, my love," Dr. Stein chuckled as he checked her heartbeat. "Everything sounds okay; pulse is racing, but, hey, you're in labor, so vhatever."

Ivy raised a curious eyebrow at this peculiar fellow of a doctor, but she stayed silent as she moved to the wall on the other side of the bathroom.

"Now, most important, is the dilation..." he continued.

"The what?" The Joker interrupted.

"Of the vaginal canal..." the doctor said casually and continued to speak to Harley.

However, the words were drowned out by The Joker as he stared at the floor with wide eyes, but then with an inquisitive glance, he received a physical explanation of the doctor's prognosis. His head started to swim as he looked away suddenly.

"Papa?" came the doctor's voice. "Everything Kosher?"

The Joker quickly shook the dizziness from his head and sat with his right side against the tub as he watched Harley.

Another two hours passed and her breathing was getting deeper. The Joker had to drain the tub once again to put in more warm water, and the doctor had given her a gentle injection to help ease the pain that was throbbing in her back. Suddenly, in the still of the tense atmosphere of the bathroom, Harley exhaled a deep guttural moan that echoed off the tiles.

The Joker, who had been stripping the bed of the wet sheets and turning the mattress over, carefully crept to the bathroom door and peered around the corner. He met Harley's painful gaze and quipped, "Remind me to never do this to you again..."

Harley giggled weakly as Dr. Stein chuckled, but Ivy gave him a cold stare. "Lighten up, Plant," he said, not looking at her.

Before she could retort, Ivy was interrupted by Harley's loud cry. "Oh, God! I think...he's coming! Oh, God! I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared..."

The doctor went to examine her as The Joker rushed to her side where she gripped his hand. Dr. Stein clapped his hands together and announced, "I think you're right, _mamele_. You'll do fine, don't worry!"

He quickly shot up and went to his other bag, which was made of a thick dark plastic. He opened it and brought out a clear plastic bag that was even sturdier. "Papa," he said, gripping his surgical scissors that he grabbed from his medical bag. "Take these..."

The Joker creased a confused brow and asked, "Why?"

The doctor looked at him, amazed. "You wanna cut the umbilical cord, don't ya?"

"Um..."

"Course you do! The bag is for all the afterbirth; just hold it for me..."

The weariness returned to The Joker's head and he set both items beside him on the floor as he turned back to Harley who was now moaning deeply.

"Now," Dr. Stein began. "No pushing till I tell you. Many women think that in labor you do much pushing, but really it only takes about three or four, God willing."

The Joker felt the third wave of vertigo sweep over him, but he slowly lifted his eyes to Harley and came to a sudden realization.

"You've never looked more beautiful than you do now," he whispered to her.

Harley turned to him, surprised at his tone, and spouted new tears as she smiled at him and he leaned in and they shared a deep kiss before Harley suddenly pulled away with another painful moan.

"He's crowning, my sweet!" Dr. Stein announced, happily.

The Joker suddenly felt sick. His mind was going in different directions at once, but the death grip Harley had on his hand kept him upright.

"Give me one good push, dahling," the doctor instructed. "And...now!"

Harley groaned loudly as she pushed, gripping The Joker's hand tighter as she heard Ivy's encouraging voice. "Come on, girly. Hold tight!"

She stopped pushing and paused to catch her breath. "Good job, love!" Dr. Stein praised. "Another one...go!"

She felt like she pushed even harder and her head pounded through the pain as the pressure increased in her hips. Her groaning soon turned into a scream and she suddenly stopped. "I can't!" she cried.

The Joker leaned in and put his nose to her cheek. "You can, Harley," he urged her.

"No, no, no," she said, pitifully as she shook her head. "It hurts..."

"Harley," he whispered in her ear. "You've wanted this baby for a long time, right? I know you have..." She nodded and he grinned as he continued. "Right! You have! You've always bugged me about it, haven't you?"

She smiled as best as she could, but her tears got the better of her. She sniffed and whimpered, "Do you love me?" she whispered.

"Harley..."

"Puddin'...please..."

Dr. Stein quietly interrupted. "Okay, Miss Quinn. Just one more push...no backin' out now. He's almost here..."

She looked at The Joker and he smirked at her as he brushed a tendril of hair from her face. She turned back to the doctor and she nodded. Dr. Stein smiled. "Okay, dear. Ready? And...now!"

Harley struggled through her last, forceful push and she felt as if her head was going to explode from the pressure, until, suddenly she felt instant relief and stared straight ahead of her as she watched the doctor gently lift something from the water. She closed her eyes as she listened to the suction of a medical bulb and then the strong cry of her baby.

She let out a relieved sigh and sobbed joyfully as Dr. Stein lifted the baby to her view. "Say hello to your bouncing baby boy!"

"He's beautiful..." Harley said as she gazed at her still crying child.

The Joker stared at the sight in front of him. He tried to quickly determine the looks of the baby; did he have her eyes? His nose? Lips? They hadn't even decided on a name!

He was shaken out of his speechlessness by Dr. Stein's voice gently saying, "Go on, Papa. The kid can't be connected to Mama all his life."

The Joker realized what was happening and picked up the surgical scissors and the doctor marked the place on the umbilical cord. He carefully let the scissors' blades force themselves through the tough tissue of the cord, and, after a quick snicker, The Joker took another look at his newborn son...

...and fainted flat on his back on the bathroom floor.

"Puddin'!" Harley called, shocked. She had definitely never seen him do that before, and she looked from him to the doctor. "Oh my God!"

"Eh?" Dr. Stein asked, casually cleaning the baby and wrapping him in a thick towel, oblivious to what occurred. He then looked down at The Joker. "Oh, him? He'll be fine, sweetheart. All new Papas do that...I've seen it a million times."

It was nearly six in the morning when The Joker finally came out of his unconscious state. He grunted softly as he lifted his head and looked around to find that he was still in the bathroom. He carefully sat up and rubbed the tender spot on the back of his head where he had landed a hard blow.

He supported himself against the wall as he slowly got to his feet, and was surprised to see the bathtub clean and spotless. The Joker shook his head. Was it all a dream?

A quiet gurgle from the bedroom answered his confusion and he fumbled toward the door frame and peered around it. He glanced at Harley asleep on the mattress that was now bare, her body covered with a thick blanket. Beside her, sitting securely by the bed, was a small, dark green bassinet.

A sudden chill ran up The Joker's neck as he took a deep breath and walked carefully toward the source of the gentle noises.

He could feel his heart start to pound in his chest as he stepped closer, but a sudden choked cry from the baby made him stop in front of the bed where Harley had been startled from her slumber.

"Mmm," she moaned as she sat up and looked at The Joker. She gave him a loving smile. "Good morning, Daddy," she cooed.

He grinned at her but didn't respond as he looked toward the bassinet again. Harley noticed the slight anxiety across his face and giggled softly. "Have you two met yet?" she whispered as she got out of bed carefully.

The Joker shook his head. "No..." he replied.

"Well, why so shy, Puddin'?" Harley said, smiling as she picked up the baby and cradled him against her breast.

"I'm not," he said, treading lightly over to her as she reclined on the bed again. He looked down at her as she pulled down a strap of her tank top and proceeded to breast feed.

The Joker grinned as he watched for a minute and then asked, "How do you know he's hungry?"

She giggled. "He pretty much tells me...but newborns need to be fed every two hours."

"Geez..." he said, rubbing his temple. "I was out for a while, I guess."

"For the rest of the night."

He cautiously crawled beside her onto the bed and continued to watch her. He put one of the baby's feet in his hand and looked at the toes. "He's kinda scrawny," he said.

Harley laughed quietly. "He'll get bigger..." The baby drew his attention away from his mother and gazed at The Joker. Harley noticed his inquisitive stare and cooed, "Who's that?"

The baby suddenly reached out a hand in The Joker's direction. "That's your Daddy..." Harley whispered.

The Joker slowly put out his own hand and let the baby grasp his finger. He couldn't stop the soft chuckle that emerged from his throat as he locked eyes with his son.

"Wow..." he said in slight awe. "He isn't...I mean, he doesn't..."

"What?" Harley asked.

The Joker gulped as he let the baby tightly grip his finger. "He isn't scared of me."

Harley giggled again. "Of course he isn't...he knows you're his daddy..." She thought this was a silly notion, but she knew that he was worried about the smudged paint that was still on his face and how intimidating he must look.

The baby released his finger after a few minutes as Harley lifted him up, and The Joker watched as she cradled him to her chest, his chin on her shoulder. She patted the baby's back.

"Careful, Harley," The Joker said, nervously.

"Oh, he's fine, honey," she grinned. "It's the only way he can-"

A loud burp interrupted her and made them both laugh quietly. The Joker moved closer to her as she held him in front of her. The baby squirmed in her lap, his tiny fingers moving underneath the fabric of his purple onesie.

"You want to hold him?" Harley asked.

The Joker's lips parted in surprise. "Well, I...I don't know...I'm still kinda dizzy..."

Harley looked away in dismay, even though she knew that he might take a while to become accustomed to their new situation.

He noticed her expression. "Come on, baby...don't be that way..."

"You're gonna have to sooner or later, you know..." came her flat expression.

"Harley..." he began, but stopped when the baby started to cry again.

"Oh, baby," Harley comforted him, cradling him once more. "Oh, what's wrong? You're not dirty and I know you're not hungry. Oh, shhh, baby boy."

The Joker licked his lips and stood up and walked around the mattress to her. "Let me take him," he whispered.

She looked at him and then carefully stood up. "Keep his neck and head supported and-"

"I got it," he responded as he let her gently place the baby in his arms. He looked down at his son as he stepped away from the bed. "Hey, kiddo..." he whispered. "You've been causing lots of excitement lately, haven't you?"

Harley sat on the bed as a big smile stretched across her face, and she placed herself under the blanket and let her tired eyes droop.

The baby gazed up at The Joker with interested eyes, and his father gave him a big smile. "Yeah, all this is new to me, too," he said. He stood by the window and began to unconsciously rock his arms in a gentle swing. The baby's eyes began to droop and he walked over to the bassinet. "Okay, back to bed, squirt," he said. "Daddy needs to fix his headache."

He placed the baby on its back and wrapped its feet with the green blanket that had been a gift from Ivy, and The Joker took another long look at his son. The baby suddenly yawned and his father chuckled lightly.

"Good night, Jack," The Joker whispered. He turned his eyes away and smiled, and then, looking upon the now sleeping figure of his son, his wide smile returned.

"Jack...yeah...I think that'll do."


	6. Chapter 6

**Three months old**

After many late night feedings and numerous changed diapers, Harley was overjoyed with every moment she had with her son. Although The Joker was gone most of the day with his men, his thoughts would drift to home as he was intrigued by Jack as each day passed. He was growing quickly, and his curiosity about everything around him was quite amusing.

For instance, The Joker had found that Jack had taken a liking to his sock drawer. "Hey, you," his father had playfully scolded one morning as he knelt down to find his son trying to put a checkered sock in his mouth. "That doesn't go there," The Joker said, smiling as he gently took the sock and put it on the baby's foot. Jack gawked at how silly the big sock looked and lifted his blue eyes to The Joker and laughed, making his father chuckle.

The Joker found Jack's laugh to be contagious.

One night after an evening's cavorting around Gotham, The Joker stripped himself of his coat and instantly walked over to the playpen in the den where Jack was busy chewing on a toy key as he lay on his back. The Joker smiled down at his son as he reached a hand to brush his cheek, making the baby gurgle amusedly. He chuckled as he picked him up and cradled him, making Harley smile as she finally noticed that he was home.

"So, how'd it go?" she asked as she prepared a nighttime bottle.

The Joker carefully sat in his favorite armchair in the den as Jack started to grow restless. "Alright..." he quietly replied. He turned his attention to the baby and whispered, "Hey, now, kiddo. Mama's fixin' up something for ya..."

"What'd you-"

"Harl, come on...I'm tired..." he said thickly as he reclined his head.

Harley smirked to herself as she walked over and handed him Jack's bottle, pausing to kiss him on the cheek. They grinned at each other as she said, "I'll leave you boys to it, then."

He glanced at her as she walked upstairs to the bedroom and Jack suckled greedily on his dinner. The Joker would never tell her, but because of feelings he could not explain, he didn't feel comfortable talking about a job while he was around their son.

Hours later, The Joker woke up to Jack's crying, nudging Harley but she was fast asleep. He sighed and went over to the crib in the corner of the room, leaning on it as he mumbled, "This is getting old, ya know that, right?"

The baby grinned at him but was soon whimpering again, and The Joker picked him up and quietly stepped toward the door. "Alright. Let's see what we can whip up downstairs," he said as he headed down to the kitchen with Jack chewing on his own fingers.

The Joker noticed this and tried to get his attention when he opened the fridge and motioned to the bottles. "Look, kiddo," he whispered. "Jackpot..." but Jack continued to chew his fingers.

His father sighed as he shut the fridge door. "What's so tasty about those digits?" He gently pulled out Jack's fingers and looked in his mouth. His gums were red and irritated and The Joker furrowed his brow. "Teething already..." He reached in a top cabinet and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. "I got something for that."

He poured a shot into a small glass and got a clean bottle nipple from a drawer. He took everything to the den and sat in his armchair as he set the glass on the table and dipped the nipple into the brown liquid. He gently stroked Jack's sore gums with it and said, "Here ya go. Grown-up medicine." Jack cooed in relief, making his father chuckle. "Don't tell Mama, okay, kiddo?"

"Don't tell me what?" came Harley's voice as she came downstairs.

He looked behind him and said, "Mornin', doll-face."

She yawned as she sat on the sofa. "I didn't hear him," she said.

"I know. Thank you," he told her.

She was quiet for a moment as she looked at Jack and then asked, "Is that whiskey?"

"Our boy's starting to teeth, I think. The whiskey numbs him from the pain." He looked down a Jack, who was bobbing his tired head up and down. The Joker chuckled, "And puts him back to sleep."

Harley smiled. "Make sure Dr. Stein doesn't smell it on him tomorrow."

He looked at her, confused. "He's coming here again? We just saw him last month."

"That was for a regular checkup. Jacky still needs three more shots."

The Joker sneered at her. "What? Why does that sadist wanna keep stickin' my boy?"

Harley smiled at how protective he was being. "Pud, he needs them. I don't want him to get sick."

"Kids get sick. It's a fact of life," he said as he dipped the nipple back into the whiskey glass. "Jack's tough. You can take it, huh, Tiger?" Jack grinned at him.

Harley yawned again. "Well, he'll be here in the morning so try to look decent."

The Joker laughed. "Me? Always, precious." She walked back upstairs and he turned to his son. "Sorry, Jacky. Mama says." Jack reached out for the nipple and his father smiled. "Drink up, kiddo."

**Six months old**

"C'mon, Jack," said Harley in frustration. "Please eat." She tried to spoon some baby food into his mouth to which he turned his head and whined.

He had been on baby food for only a month, but she was still trying to figure out exactly which foods he would eat and which he would rather just let her wear. "Jack, I know you want your bottle, but that's only for bedtime, now," she told him as she tried again. He took a little bit from the spoon and took his time swallowing. When he did, he let out a sad cry as if he were being tortured by his mean mother.

The Joker came downstairs from his study, wearing his undershirt and purple slacks. He stopped in front of the table and squinted at Jack playfully.

His son finally decided that he was okay and smiled back at him. "What's with all the noise, little boy?" The Joker asked as he sat on the other side of the highchair.

Harley looked at him, a smudge of green food on her chin. "He won't eat his lunch. He's eaten this before and now he just spits it back out." She put the spoon in the jar and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms.

The Joker turned Jack's highchair closer to him and said to his son in a stern, but playful tone, "Now, look here, Jack. You need to listen to Mama and eat your lunch if you wanna grow up to be big and strong like me." Jack giggled as he continued, "So, you need to be a big boy, now, and eat your…" He picked up the jar of baby food. "Peas?" he sneered in disgust.

"Yes, peas!" said Harley, defensively.

"Harley," he said, "_you_ don't like peas, yet your making Jacky eat them. You're a sick woman."

She signed in annoyance as she stood up and went to the pantry. "Okay then. I'll get something else." She returned to the table and set down the new jar, but was stopped from opening at another protest.

"Spinach?" The Joker sneered again. "Does he look like a rabbit to you?"

She threw up her hands, groaning. "He needs to eat, Daddy. Otherwise, he'll wake up tonight hungry." Harley opened the jar and proceeded to give a spoonful to Jack.

The Joker suddenly cleared his throat and went over to the freezer, and soon he came back with a pint of strawberry ice cream. Harley gave him a confused look as he opened the lid of the carton and took a big helping into his mouth. Jack turned his head toward his father and his eyes widened when he saw the treat his father was enjoying.

The Joker grinned as he put a little into his spoon and started to feed it to his son until Harley said, "Whoa. Don't feed him ice cream. It'll ruin his lunch."

He looked at her with a sly smirk and slowly guided the spoon into Jack's mouth, and he ate it without hesitation. Harley's mouth dropped. "Have you been feeding him ice cream behind my back?"

The Joker gave her an innocent look. "I dunno what you're talkin' about, baby," he told her and then gave Jack another helping.

Harley shook her head. "Fine," she said. "Make me the big meanie for wanting him to have a nutritious lunch. I'm gonna take a nap. You boys have fun." She stomped up the stairs and The Joker watched her as she slammed the door.

He and Jack looked at each other and The Joker grabbed the spinach jar. He gave Jack a small spoonful and he ate it with slight hesitation. "See, kiddo," he said. "You just needed a little motivation."

Jack ate another spoonful and The Joker continued, "Your mom ain't that bad. She's just tired. Hasn't really been in the mood lately, if you get my drift..." He looked at his son, who was giving him a dazed expression. "No, of course you don't..." The Joker gave him a raspberry on his cheek, making him giggle again.

After Jack had been fed and cleaned up, The Joker set him down in his crib for a nap. He had decided to move out of his study and convert it into a proper room for Jack, since he and his collection of toys was getting bigger. The Joker quietly shut the door while his son dozed and he walked to the bedroom where he found Harley trying to take a nap.

"Are you pouting?" he asked, teasing her.

"No," she answered, coldly.

"Aww, you're such a bad liar," he moaned as he lay down beside her, wrapping his arms around her body. They were quiet for a moment as he took in deep breaths against her skin. "You're warm..." he mumbled.

"I'm so tired," Harley sighed. "I didn't mean to lose my patience in front of Jack."

"Ha! Are you kidding me? All he cared about was the ice cream; he wasn't paying any attention to you..."

She turned to him. "Please don't tell me you feed him that kinda stuff all the time."

The Joker was quiet a moment and then said, "Okay...I won't tell you."

"Puddin'!"

He chuckled. "Oh, Harl, stop it. A little ice cream never hurt anyone."

She put her forehead to his and licked her lips. "Are you going out tonight?"

"That was the plan," he told her as he stroked her arm with his thumb.

"Oh..."

The Joker wrinkled his brow. "What does _that_ mean?"

Harley turned away from him again and hugged her pillow. "It means nothing..."

"Don't start this, Harley," he said, sitting up.

"I wouldn't if you would stay home more often..."

The Joker groaned, irritated. "Harley, I keep telling you. This new...partnership with Maroni...it's been going swimmingly...we have an agreement..."

"I thought we did, too, since you knocked me up..." Harley mumbled.

He sneered as he grabbed her shoulder and forced her onto her back. His stern glare pierced her wide eyes, which were looking at him defiantly. He wanted to bite back at her, but the look she was giving him was too inviting.

He suddenly kissed her hungrily, making her moan softly against his lips as he slowly put himself between her legs. He pulled his undershirt over his head as she clawed at his toned stomach. He leaned in once more and teased her with passionate kisses along her neck, and Harley gripped his shoulders as she tried to hold back her loud moans.

The Joker sensed her being cautious and whispered, "Don't hold it in, baby..."

"I don't wanna wake him..." she sighed against his skin. However, her arousal got the best of her and she gathered her strength and forced him onto his back with a loud grunt.

The Joker merely chuckled slyly. "Now we're talkin'..."

Harley fumbled with his boxer shorts and pulled her panties to the side as she roughly slammed herself onto him, making him belt out a loud moan. "Ooh! God, baby...yeah..." The Joker latched his hands onto her hips as she bounced on him. Her tiny squeals made his pulse race and he grabbed a handful of her hair as he began delivering hard thrusts against her.

Her breath was soon rasping as she stiffened herself and let him take control of her. "Ahh...Mistah J..." she breathed. "Don't stop..."

"You like that, huh? You like when Daddy takes over?" he growled back at her as he quickened his pace.

A short, shrill cry rang from her throat as she felt her climax rising within her. Harley tried to hold the hand that was still resting on her hip, but she instead grasped his wrist as his grip grew tighter on her. He soon grunted as his rhythm slowed and he closed his eyes as he tilted his head back. "Oh...baby..." he sighed as he finally stopped his movements, letting Harley slide off him and onto her back.

Minutes later, after laying in silence catching their breaths, Harley crawled beside him and he pulled her to him. He playfully kissed her on the nose and put his hand back in her hair as she sighed, "That was amazing."

The Joker chuckled, "I know. I was there."

Later that night, The Joker was filling a duffle bag with certain items necessary for his evening plans as his men waited patiently outside the front door. Harley preoccupied Jack as they sat on the floor in the den, making sure he was more interested in his noisy toys than the weapons that his father was busy packing. However, she couldn't keep him from eyeing The Joker's poised precision in making sure that his handguns were packed just right in the small bag that was sitting on their dining room table.

"I'll be home late, Harl," The Joker muttered as he zipped it up tightly.

"Okay, Pud," she replied as he came over to her.

He knelt down and kissed her forehead briskly and then smiled at Jack as he leaned over and ruffled the soft, dark down of hair on his small head. "Be good, kiddo," The Joker told him.

He stood up and walked away from them toward the door, his bag over his shoulder. A sudden sound made him stop in his tracks.

"Dah-dee!"

The Joker just stared at the front door. His son's voice, so unyielding in its purpose, echoed in his ears.

He thought it would be so simple. Harley would have the baby, and everything would go back to the way it was, day to day. He had slipped into this fatherhood thing so effortlessly. Nothing to it!

But the sudden exclamation from his infant son shot through him, and the reality of his newfound role slammed itself into his very being.

He realized that the birth of their child was just the beginning.

It came again, softer this time. "Dah...dee..."

He gently set the duffle bag on the floor and turned toward his smiling son and a stunned Harley, both her hands on her mouth. He walked back over to them and stood over Jack, who looked up at him with wide, blue eyes.

Jack instantly lifted his arms. "Daddy!" The word was much clearer this time.

The Joker chuckled as he gave him an awe-struck grin. He gently lifted the baby off the floor and cradled him close, Jack's tiny arms around his neck. "Jesus Christ..." he whispered in silent wonder. He then looked at Harley. "He...he just...did you hear it?"

Harley's eyes were growing brighter with happy tears as she nodded.

His chuckling grew louder and was soon reverberating off the walls of the theater as his son nestled his face in his father's neck.


	7. Chapter 7

Fours years had found Jack Quinn to be a very active child, and his inquisitive nature inspired Harley to purchase educational workbooks from the bookstore downtown, and she would tutor him everyday, leaving room of course for recess before lunch.

Harley knew his cleverness was from The Joker, and as each day passed, she noticed that he had inherited his features, as well: the shape of his jaw, the slight curl in his dark hair. All of this was of The Joker, save for Jack's deep blue eyes.

One evening, Jack sat in the kitchen as he scribbled in the last page of one of his coloring books as Harley cleared the table of their dinner. "Jack, it's time to get ready for bed," she told him as she lifted his now empty bowl of macaroni and cheese. "Let's go upstairs and get a bath."

Jack put down his purple crayon and looked at his mother. "May I wait till Daddy gets home? Please?"

Harley came over to him with a small glass of milk. "Now, baby. Daddy may not be home for a while. He has to work late tonight," she told him as she caressed his hair.

"But, Mama," he whined again. "Daddy always reads to me when I take a bath."

Harley smiled, saying," I know, sweetie, but-" She was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. Jack shot up out of his chair and hid behind the sofa.

The Joker stopped halfway to the kitchen as he noticed his son trying to be tricky. Harley watched as he slowly crept around the couch and sneaked up behind Jack, roaring as he picked him up and put him under his arm.

"Gotcha!" he exclaimed, making Jack squeal with laughter as he tickled him. The boy squirmed in The Joker's grip and kicked his legs with every guffaw.

Harley watched, smiling, but soon interrupted them. "Daddy, Jack needs a bath..."

The Joker stopped and put his nose to Jack's hair. "Phew!" he said, crinkling his nose, playfully. "You're right; this kid stinks!"

Jack giggled as his father set him on the floor again and he immediately started tugging at the tails of his purple coat. "Daddy! Daddy! Can we keep reading _Treasure Island_?"

The Joker smiled as he took off his coat and Harley grinned as she took it from him and watched them walk upstairs together. "You know it, kiddo..."

"And-and will you do the voices?" Jack asked excitedly.

"No, not tonight," his father joked.

"Daddy, no! You have to do the pirate voices!" Jack declared, as if they were a crucial part of the storytelling.

The Joker chuckled. "Don't have a conniption, son. You know I'll do the voices..."

As they entered Jack's room, Harley could hear her son's question, "What's a 'nip-shon,' Daddy?"

"It's what Mamas have when little boys don't take a bath," came The Joker's answer.

Jack was soon playing with his bath toys as The Joker sat on the floor beside the tub, balancing the book in his lap as his son splashed.

"_The old fellow's fury was awful_," he read from the aged tome he had taken from a pawn shop. "_He sprang to his feet, drew and opened a sailor's clasp-knife, and balancing it open on the palm of his hand, threatened to pin the doctor to the wall-_Jack, what are you doing?"

The Joker relayed this question when he felt a considerable amount of warm water splash onto the floor beside him. He looked up and saw that Jack was rocking back and forth, making his bubbly bath water splash against both ends of the tub and over the sides.

"Makin' waves, Daddy," he said, plainly. "I'm on a pirate ship..."

"You're not on a pirate ship, Jacky," The Joker pointed out with a grin. "Ease up on the waves..."

He parted his lips to continue reading but felt another wave crest over the side of the bathtub. "Jack..." his father warned in a deep tone.

Jack knew that he needed to pay attention when The Joker held that particular timbre in his voice and immediately ceased his imaginary, high-sea adventure and instead played with his green rubber duck once again.

The Joker smiled as he glanced at the book and yawned. He looked at his pocket watch and then at his son. "You've been in there for half an hour, kiddo. You wrinkled up enough?"

Jack looked at his fingertips and nodded energetically. "Yep, yep, yep!" he yelled as he bounced on his bottom.

His father put aside the book and rolled up his sleeves. After this, he put a generous amount of tear-free shampoo in his hand and proceeded to massage it into Jack's hair.

"Daddy?" he said after a short moment of silence.

"Yeah?" he asked as he grabbed a small red plastic cup and filled it with warm water.

Jack rubbed his eyes and sleepily asked, "Why do you work so much?"

The Joker smirked. "I have a very busy job," he replied as he rinsed Jack's hair. "I travel alllll around the city…fixing stuff."

"Like what?" his son asked him through a small yawn.

The Joker paused, not really sure how to answer. He and Harley had talked about not hiding anything from their child, but some small portion inside him wanted to keep certain aspects of his 'business' out of the house.

He cleared his throat. "Well, son, I go to banks and museums and I do jobs with Uncle Maroni. Remember him?" Jack nodded. "Well," The Joker continued, "he finds jobs for Daddy that they can do together."

Jack looked confused and said, "What if Uncle Maroni can't find stuff?"

"Then Daddy goes out and finds some stuff," his father answered truthfully.

"Like what?" continued Jack's line of questioning.

The Joker put down the red cup and looked at Jack who was looking back at him with his mother's blue eyes. He licked his lips. "It's time for bed, Jacky Boy," he said as he ran his fingers through his son's clean hair.

"I'm not sleepy..." Jack whined, his eyes drooping as he was helped out of the tub.

"Of course you're not..." The Joker agreed, wrapping him in a big purple towel.

After Jack put on his pajamas, his sleepy head resting on The Joker's shoulder as he did, he was put into bed, the sheet pulled up to his chest. "Daddy?" Jack asked, groggily.

"What is it, kiddo?" he whispered back.

"Can I sleep with you and Mama?" he asked pitifully.

The Joker shook his head. "Now, Jacky. We've talked about this. You're a big boy now and you can't keep sleeping with us."

"Please?" he whined. "I'll go right to sleep; honest..."

"No, Jack..."

"But, Daddy," his voice cracked with sudden tears. "I'm scared..."

The Joker creased his brow and sat on the edge of the bed. "Why's that?" he asked calmly as he caressed Jack's temple with his thumb.

A small tear crept its way down his tiny cheek and he lazily wiped it away as he said, "I keep seeing a monster..."

"No monsters in your room, kiddo. Remember? We checked..."

"Will you check again? Please?"

His son's quivering voice gave The Joker no choice but to humor him, as he usually did every few nights before bed. "Okay." He got up and opened the closet wide and showed Jack. "No monsters here..." He traversed to the side of the bed and, kneeling down, he inspected underneath, saying, "None here either..."

"Check the window!" Jack suddenly said.

The Joker shook his head, but noticed that this was the first time he had asked to check the window for any potential signs of monsters.

"Nothing..." he concluded.

"No, Daddy..." Jack said, weakly. "I saw a monster in my window..."

The Joker could sense the impatience in Jack's voice, but he coolly turned off the lamp at his bedside. "Close your eyes, little one," he said quietly. "Nothing is gonna bother you tonight."

"Daddy, please..." he whined, faking his sobs to win a pinch of last minute sympathy. "I have to sleep in your bed or the monster will eat me!"

"Nice try, kiddo," his father with a grin as he kissed Jack's forehead. "Night night..."

"Please!" he finally pleaded through tired, hasty tears as The Joker closed his bedroom door.

He had been through several of Jack's temper tantrums, as they usually happened at bedtime and ranged in different subjects, from monsters to wanting to play with his blocks, or even wanting to have a few cookies. At first, The Joker found them agitating, but as Jack grew older he found them amusing.

He went back to the kitchen where he plopped himself down at the table and slouched in a chair. Harley turned from her dishwashing and smiled at him as he pulled down his sleeves. Another loud hiccup of a sob emitted from behind Jack's door and Harley heard The Joker let out a small chuckle. "That kid is something else, Harls," he told her.

She walked over to him and he gently pulled her into his lap. He could smell the lemon scent on her hands from the dish soap and he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Our son," he murmured to her. "Just asked me what I do for a living."

Harley's throat tightened and she gulped. "Oh? What did you say to him?"

He sighed. "I told him that I went all over the city...no details or anything...not like I lied to him, right?"

"I guess..." she said, quietly.

"Well, what did you want me to say, Harl?" he asked her, annoyed. "That Daddy goes around bombing bank safes and trading weapons in alleys?"

"Puddin', we agreed that-"

"I know...what was agreed...sweetie. I just...I don't know. I just have a feeling -"

"He's too young to know?" she finished his thought.

He shook his head in denial. "No! It isn't that. I..." The Joker groaned in exasperation as he pushed Harley off his lap. "I'm tired..."

She rolled her eyes and returned to her dishes. "As always..."

He raised an eyebrow as he stood up. "Excuse me?"

"You're always conveniently tired when the conversation backs you into a corner..." she replied, haughtily.

The Joker frowned at her as he slowly approached her. "You spiteful, little..."

She lightly gasped as he grasped her arm and whirled her around to face him, making the plate that she was holding fall to the floor and shatter.

Harley stared at him, her bright eyes wide as he glowered back at her. He loosened his hold on her arm and leaned into her, placing his hands on the sink counter behind her. His sneer relaxed and his lips then rested themselves on hers, gently parting them with his tongue as she dropped the dish towel.

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders as she kissed back, letting her lips press harder as he growled approvingly.

"Dirty girl..." he whispered, making her giggle as he lifted her onto the kitchen counter.

Harley reached down and unzipped his pants, but stopped when she heard a meek voice beside them.

"Mama?"

They both stopped kissing and The Joker immediately zipped his pants again and turned away to hide his apparent excitement. Harley wiped her lips and adjusted the strap of her tank top that had fallen. "What is it, honey?" she asked him.

"I heard a loud noise," he commented, rubbing his eyes while holding his favorite stuffed elephant.

The Joker took a deep breath and turned to his son. "Mama dropped a plate, kiddo. Just an accident..."

"Oh..." he said, sleepily, and just stared blankly at the broken plate just inches from him.

The Joker realized he was too close and sauntered over to Jack and picked him up and rested him on his hip. "Come on, Jacky. You and Humphrey need to sleep."

Jack hugged his prized elephant and shook his head. "We're not sleepy."

"Yeah, I know..." his father said as he caught a glance at Harley's amused smile.


	8. Chapter 8

**Four years later**

"Dad! Look what I caught!" Jack yelled as he bustled over to his father.

The Joker was conversing with his men about a hit that they had been tailing, and Ringo turned away and rolled his eyes when his Boss turned around to give his attention to his son.

"Whatcha got there?" he asked.

Jack slowly opened his hands to reveal a small, brown lizard. "Can I keep him, please? I can put him in a jar with holes in the lid."

The Joker grinned, but shook his head. "Jack, if you were that lizard, would you want to live in a cramped jar?"

Jack's smile slowly faded as he said, "But...I caught it."

"I know," The Joker continued. "Lizards are fun to catch. I used to be eight-years-old, too...but, I happen to know a thing or two about...being caged up. You follow me, kiddo?"

Jack gave him a curious look. "Were you in jail, Dad?"

The Joker licked his lips and sighed. "Arkham isn't really a prison, son, but...I was locked up just the same...doesn't feel good."

Jack took another look at the lizard in his hands and then gently set it on the ground.

His father chuckled. "Good boy, Jacky," he said as he ruffled his son's hair. "Your mom's fixing lunch. Why don't you go wash up?"

"'Kay!" Jack shouted as he ran to the front door. "Mom! I caught a lizard!" he announced as it slammed behind him.

Harley, who was relaxing on the sofa, tossed her magazine on the floor. "Keep it outside, mister," she scolded. "I told you: no reptiles in the house."

Jack plopped down on the kitchen floor and pulled off his shoes. "Dad told me to leave him where I found him...said he didn't want to be in a jar..."

"And he's right," Harley agreed, picking up her son's muddy shoes and placing them by the door.

"Hey, Mom? What's Arkham?"

His mother looked at him with wide eyes. She never expected to hear that word come out of her son. "Who...where did you hear that name, Jack?"

"Dad told me that Arkham wasn't really a prison," he explained as he climbed into one of the dining room chairs. "What is it, then?"

Harley gulped as she went to the refrigerator to retrieve essentials for her son's bologna sandwich. "Well, honey...he's right...in a way." She paused as she set the mayonnaise jar on the table. "It's just a place that...Dad had to go to from time to time..."

"Were you ever there, Mom?" Jack asked with inquisitive eyes.

"Do you want milk or orange juice with your sandwich?"

He looked down at the dark grooves in the wood of the table as he sneered. His parents always avoided answering any questions he had about themselves, like how they had met, why his Dad watched the news so intently, and why he always had to work at night.

The Joker's face paint had been explained as merely part of the job description and Jack didn't chance springing any further questions on that subject.

"Milk, please," he muttered, once again let down.

The front door opened and Jack turned to see his father sauntering to join him at the table, and he smiled at him as he draped his purple coat over a chair and sat. "What's for lunch, kiddo?"

"Bologna and cheese," Harley responded for him.

"Again?" The Joker asked. "You keep eatin' all this deli meat, son, and you're gonna get the gout..."

"What's 'gauwt?'" Jack pronounced crisply.

His father smiled. "If you eat too much salt, then you get the gout. It's this painful illness where your feet get really, really big."

Jack grinned. "Nuh uh!"

"You callin' me a liar?" The Joker asked as he grasped one of his son's ankles and gave a playful look of surprise. "Oh...my...God! It's happening!"

Jack craned his neck to see. "No it isn't!" But before he could prove his father wrong, The Joker proceeded to tickle his trapped foot.

Harley smiled as she listened to their playing, but shushed them as she brought his lunch to the table. "Okay, children. Enough now. Jacky, after lunch, we'll do some more math problems, okay?"

Her son groaned. "Aw, man..."

The Joker folded his arms on the table and pointed a finger at him. "Hey, kiddo, you better pay attention to the math; it'll help in the long run."

"It's the fractions that he hates, Dad," Harley chimed in.

"Ah, no sweat," The Joker said, waving his hand nonchalantly. "You can do it." His cell phone buzzed and he flipped it open. "Yeah?"

Jack watched him intently, trying his best to listen to his Uncle Townshend on the other end of the line as he chewed his sandwich. He knew that The Joker would be going out again tonight and he was accustomed to his nightly excursions, but Jack couldn't help the anxious feeling in his stomach that his growing curiosity was letting stew.

After his brief conversation, The Joker slammed his phone shut and walked over to Harley who was coming to join them at the table. He looked back at Jack and then at her, muttering, "Towser said this thing with Cuccino is going down tonight."

Harley's eyes widened again. "Tonight? I thought he was outta the country..."

"Shh..." he hushed her gently, not wanting their son to hear. However, Jack was once again eavesdropping.

"I want Jack to stay inside and be put in bed by eight o clock. " Harley furrowed her brow at him to which he sighed. "Don't give me that look, Harl. This is not a Maroni job and we're talking profitable goods, here."

"He's coming here? For a few measly guns?" she whispered.

"For a few measly _automatics_ that Gordon's stooges would be glad to book him for...but they're not going to. We had a deal..."

She shook her head. "Stop making deals with the Mob, Mistah J."

"No more, Harley. Cuccino is the last -"

"That's what you said about Maroni...and that was nearly eight years ago, and you're still dealing with him." She glanced at Jack and turned away, making The Joker follow her. He noticed her concerned expression and lifted her face to his and kissed her gently on the forehead.

"Just watch our boy...okay?" he whispered.

She nodded, but sighed as she walked past him to sit at the table with her son.

Later that night, after his bath and after he struggled to pay attention to his mother's reading from _The Grapes of Wrath_, he tossed and turned in his small bed as he thought about what he had heard between her and The Joker.

Who was Cuccino and what were automatics? Why was his mother worried about this man coming to their home? And more importantly, what was the Mob and just what kind of deals had his father been making with them?

Jack finally sat up and looked toward his window and he bit his lip as he got up and peered through it. He could see in the distance near the alley where the lot was secured by an old chain link fence his father's silhouette along with two of his men standing by the car. The Joker was pacing back and forth, looking toward the end of the alley and back at the theatre.

Jack quietly crept to his closet and put his bare feet in his tennis shoes, not worrying about the warmth of his socks that would protect him from the growing cold outside. As he sneaked to his door, he briefly thought of the little lizard he could have brought inside to keep him warm under his bedside lamp, but he shook his head, knowing there were more important matters at that moment.

He cracked open his door and peered into the dark of the den, where all that was lit was the glare of the television screen and a single lamp. He saw that his mother's attention was instead engaged in the magazine in her lap and he took advantage of this by slowly walking down the stairs, being careful not to make his shoes squeak on the old wood.

He was soon outside the front door and he ran to the fence and crouched as low as he could. He darted through the first lamppost that illuminated the edge and he saw his father's silhouette wandering toward the alley. He watched him as he hid in the shadows and Jack got on his belly and crawled underneath a bush that was across from his father so that he could get a closer look.

Townshend was leaning against the car reading his usual Auto Trader magazine as Ringo clutched his arms to his chest trying to warm his ungloved hands. Jack turned his eyes to his father and they squinted to try to make out what he was holding. As The Joker turned toward another lamppost and was caught in the light, Jack took in a quiet gasp when he saw the big revolver his father was clutching.

He concluded that this Cuccino had to be a bad man if his father had to carry a weapon, but he came out of his wonder when he saw another car approach the men and The Joker pocketed his gun as he greeted them.

Jack hugged his chest as a cold breeze blew through the shrub in which he was hiding, but he continued to crouch low as the new men, one of them wearing a crisp blue three-piece suit, walked to The Joker's car where Townshend opened the trunk. The blue suit and one of his men opened two briefcases, both of which contained even bigger guns than his father's.

Jack looked at The Joker, who was smiling triumphantly as he handed the man a huge wad of bills, the sight of which put a lump in Jack's throat as he wondered where the money had come from.

The Joker, after Ringo took both suitcases, looked behind him and gave a signal as he walked away. Suddenly, Jack saw Buddy appear from the darkness and knock Cuccino's man in the head with a Billy club as a confused Cuccino was punched in the stomach and forced to his knees.

Jack watched with wide eyes as his father walked back to the man and put his revolver to Cuccino's forehead, saying, "Nice doin' business with ya," and squeezed the trigger.

The echo of the shot couldn't mask the sudden rustle in the shrubs as Jack shot from his hiding spot and sprinted to the theatre.

Jack could hear another shot ring into the still night air and he ran faster to try to reach the back of the lot where there was a shed. He had been told that he wasn't allowed to play near the shed and he never asked why, but at this moment, he would do anything to try to avoid the same fate as Cuccino.

He reached the shed and forced open the door, shutting it tightly behind him and turning around. Jack gasped as he saw, on the shelves and on the walls, different weapons of all sizes. Guns, piles of old knives, shards of glass, pieces of sharp metal, but most worrisome to him, an open box that contained sticks of dynamite.

He panted as he froze in his place, but forced himself to sit on the cold wooden floor. He brought his knees to his chest, wondering how he was going to get out of this situation, and his heart began pounding when he heard footsteps slowly walking to the door.

It violently opened and he met his father's angry glare as he pointed his gun at his target.

The Joker's countenance changed instantly when he saw the frightened look on his son's face and his own heart began to race. "Jack!" he shouted in both shock and anger.

Jack gave him a pitiful, apologetic look as The Joker sputtered, "What the hell are you...?" He finally licked his lips and his angry expression returned with even more fury. "Come here."

The firm tone in his voice gave Jack chills, but he didn't move. "Jack!" his father shouted again. "Now!"

Jack yielded, rising from his place on the floor and soon feeling his father's fingers wrap tightly around his arm as he escorted him back inside the theatre.

"Harley!" he exclaimed as he kicked open the front door, and Harley jumped up from the couch and gave a shocked look toward the both of them.

"Jack? What are you doing out of bed?" she asked him, her hands planted firmly on her hips.

The Joker released Jack from his grip and stomped toward her. "That's exactly what I was gonna ask you, sweetheart," he said, derisively. "I told you to make sure he was in bed by a certain time and he-"

"I put him to bed at eight o clock, Puddin'," she told him.

"I told you to watch him, Harley! You can't even watch him when he's supposed to be sleeping? What kind of mother are you?"

"How dare you!" she screamed. "Who's the one that stays with him every night while you go out making bogus deals? Who's the one that spends time with him?"

"I'm doing what I can to provide for him and you; have you forgotten that, Princess?" he shouted back.

"Don't call me that, you son-of-a-bitch!"

The Joker brought his hand back and was about to bring it across Harley's cheek, but was interrupted by their son's yell, "Dad!"

He looked at Jack who was visibly shaken, not only by the discovery he had made just a few minutes ago, but by the violent words and potential acts that were about to be played out in front of him. The Joker gulped and brought down his hand as Harley said, softly, "Jack...", but their son pivoted as he choked out a brief sob and ran up the stairs, slamming his bedroom door.

Harley brought her fingers to her lips as The Joker quietly walked past her and slumped onto the couch. She looked up at her son's door and then walked toward The Joker, who was now leaning forward, his face in his gloved hands. She sighed as she sat beside him. "He..." she started and then licked her lips. "If he was out of bed...then, he...saw you...didn't he?"

The Joker slowly bobbed his head in answer to her question. "Oh, God..." she whispered, trying to hold back tears. "I...I heard the shot...I was scared it would wake him, but when he didn't-"

A loud sniffle emitted from The Joker as he kept his face in his hands. "Baby?" she cooed as her tears fell upon her cheeks.

She reached for him, gently taking his wrist and moving it toward her, but she was thrown off guard when he suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her chest, leaving smears of black paint on her tank top.

After a moment, he took a deep breath. "I can't believe I was going to do that...right in front of him...the look...on his face..."

"Puddin'," Harley whispered. "He's okay..."

"I'm no better...than my fucking father...when Jack called out to me-"

"You were reminded of...how you would do that...to your dad, right?"

The Joker nodded as he hugged her tighter. "I promised...myself..."

"Honey, come on..." she said, tenderly lifting him off her and looking at him. "It's time we talked to him. We've kept our own lives secret from him...he deserves to know-"

"He deserves everything," The Joker said in a deep voice. He locked a pitiful gaze with Harley and blinked slowly. "He's my boy..."

Harley grinned. "I know he is..."

He licked his lips and softly caressed her cheek. "And you're my girl..." He sniffed. "Harley..."

"Stop it, now," she said. "Just calm down...let's wait until morning. Let him sleep it off..."

"He's afraid of me now," The Joker concluded.

"No!" Harley told him, firmly. "Never. Do you understand? You...are not your father."

The Joker blinked and looked past her and suddenly turned away and wiped his eyes. Harley turned to see Jack standing a few feet from them, his hands twitching in front of him and his blue eyes red from crying. "Baby," Harley said to him. "Come here."

Jack carefully walked over to them and his mother ran her fingers through his hair as he looked at The Joker who was hanging his head so he couldn't see the redness in his own dark eyes. However, Jack stepped closer to him and his father lifted his gaze to his son, who quietly asked, "What does Mom mean...when she says you're not like your dad?"

His father sighed deeply as he pulled Jack into his lap and held him tightly.


	9. Chapter 9

"So...Arkham is a...hospital?" Jack muttered as he sat at the kitchen table eating his bowl of Cap'n Crunch Berries. He was red-faced from lack of sleep due to a cough that he had acquired from running around in the cold the previous night. This morning, as he sat eating breakfast with his father, Jack was slowly learning just who his parents were.

"Yes, Jack," The Joker answered him, poking his oatmeal with his spoon as Harley sat next to their son. She kept patting the top of his head as he continued to cough.

"Well...why were you in the hospital so much?" Jack continued.

The Joker sighed, unsure of what to say until Harley chimed in, "Arkham...is a different kind of hospital, honey. It's a place where people are taken to...to..."

"Be kept behind closed doors," The Joker said. "It's a place where your dear old Dad had to spend...every time he was caught..."

"Caught?" Jack said, confusedly.

His father smirked. "Caught doing...my job..."

Jack thought for a quiet moment and, after another deep cough, asked, "You rob banks, don't you, Dad?"

The question made The Joker's neck jerk and he popped it and said, "I do."

"And...do you do...what you did to that man last night?"

Harley bit her lip and sighed, "Baby..."

"No, no, Harl," The Joker interrupted her. "We promised..." He sniffed and looked at his son. "I...yeah, kiddo...I do..."

Jack's brow suddenly creased as he looked at Harley. "What about you, Mom?"

Her lips parted in slight surprise as she looked at The Joker, who softly nodded for her to answer. She took a deep breath and caressed her son's hair, saying, "Yes, baby."

He put down his spoon and looked down at his lap and played with his fingers. He heard his father shift quietly in his seat next to him, and his mother's hand was still caressing his hair and back. Jack blinked as he looked up at his father, "Did they...deserve it, Dad? Did they do something to you to..."

"They all deserve it, Jack," he answered as he suddenly got out of his chair and went to put his half-eaten oatmeal on the kitchen counter.

"Puddin'..." Harley called as he remained standing away from them.

Jack heard his father throw his bowl onto the counter and sigh heavily once more.

He couldn't understand why he was getting uncomfortable. He had learned quickly from watching the news every night with The Joker that they deemed robbing banks and killing people as deplorable acts toward society. But if they all deserved it, then what harm was there? Especially when his father was only trying to do his job.

He suddenly hopped out of his seat as he was reminded of something else on the news, something he knew always made his father scoff. "Dad? What about that guy that dresses like a bat?"

The Joker quickly whirled around, a hard glare toward his son as he stepped closer. "What about him?" he asked darkly.

Jack creased his brow inquisitively again, asking, "I mean, doesn't he go all over the city just like you? He beats up people who do...exactly what you do..."

Harley leaned forward in her chair, intrigued. "What are you saying, baby?"

"Well...why doesn't _he_ get put in Arkham?"

His parents stared blankly at him until an abrupt laugh erupted from The Joker's throat that was soon reverberating off the walls of the theater. Harley also joined in with soft giggles as Jack looked on, smiling. "What?" he said, giggling to himself. "What'd I say?"

The Joker finally ceased his laughter, wiping his hair behind his ear as he approached his son, who covered his coughing as his father picked him up and rested him on his hip. He brushed Jack's cheek with his thumb and noticed the sudden rise in temperature in his skin.

"Hmm..." he smirked. "I think you need to go back to bed, Jacky. You have a small fever."

Harley suddenly got up from her chair and trotted over to them, placing the palm of her hand over her son's forehead. "Oh my God," she gasped. "Go lie down, honey. I'll get you a cold compress."

"Relax, Harl," The Joker told her, putting Jack back onto the floor. "It's probably just a little cold."

However, as soon as Jack's feet touched the floor, a coughing fit overcame him, making him double over as the rasping in his throat grew deeper.

"Jack?" The Joker asked, kneeling beside him with his hand on his back. "Come on, kiddo. Upstairs..."

"I'll call Dr. Stein," Harley panted frantically as she ran to their bedroom to retrieve her phone.

An hour later, The Joker secured his son in his bed and brought the blanket up to Jack's neck and tucked it around the rest of his body. He covered his feet with a quilt that Harley had brought from the sofa downstairs and Jack moaned as a tiny cough escaped his throat. "Dad?" he whispered.

"Shhh. Don't talk right now, son," he told Jack as he patted his leg. "You need to rest. The doctor will be coming soon."

Jack moaned again. "Dad, I don't want to see Dr. Stein. He's gonna give me a shot."

The Joker stroked his son's face to soothe him. "Well, Jacky, he may have to, depending on how sick you are. But it'll make you feel better. I promise."

The Joker watched him as he breathed deeply. Jack curled into a tight ball, whimpering, "Dad. I'm cold."

His father wrapped his arm around his body and squeezed him. "Just close your eyes and stay in the blanket. You'll warm up soon."

Harley approached the bed with a bottle of Children's Tylenol and sat beside her son. "Jack," she said. "I want you to take something to help with your fever." She paused as she set the medicine on his bedside table. "Shoot...I'll go get some water for you, Sweetie." With that, she quickly exited the bedroom and trotted down the stairs.

The Joker looked at Jack and caressed his hair. "I'll be right back, son. You take a little nap, okay?" Jack slowly nodded and let out another hoarse cough.

He found Harley in the kitchen where she had stopped under the cabinet to get a glass. "Harl..." he called out to her.

Harley suddenly put her hands up to her face and started to cry, to which he approached her and put his arms around her. She sobbed quietly into his vest while he rubbed her back.

Harley looked at him, her eyes swollen from all of the crying she had done ever since she felt Jack's face. His fever was high and he couldn't stand up on his own, he was so weak.

She took a deep breath and said through choking sobs, "I'm a horrible mother...just like you said..."

The Joker sighed and rolled his eyes. "Babe, I was angry...you know that..."

"No, you were right..." she said as she looked into his dark eyes. "I was supposed to make sure that he was in bed...I should have checked on him...oh, God...he could have been hurt...and now...he...he..."

She broke down again and The Joker held her tighter and put his face in her hair. He feared the worst as well, but he wouldn't tell her that.

"Harley," he whispered. "He's gonna be okay. Pretty soon he'll be back out of bed and bringing frogs in the house again. We know how much you love that." She giggled as he wiped her cheeks.

The front door opened and Dr. Stein greeted her. "Hello, _mamele_, I came as fast as I could. You wouldn't believe the crazy _shmoks _that are on the road tonight."

She pulled away from The Joker and ran up to Dr. Stein, throwing her arms around him and catching him off guard. He chuckled as he patted her back, "Vot's all this, _gelibte_?"

Harley sniffed and looked into his eyes. "I just wanna thank you for still being here for Jack and for us even though you still work for The Mob-I mean..."

Dr. Stein threw his hands up and laughed. "Oh, my dear! I'm a doctor. I work for any one who wants to stay my patient, God willing." Harley laughed and hugged him again. "Easy now, my dear. Ve don't want Papa to get all _fardekhtik_."

The Joker really didn't know what that meant, but he shook his head and grinned. "Hey, Doc," he said as he walked over to them. "I appreciate it, too." He held out his hand and the good doctor gladly took it. "_A sheynam dank_," The Joker said as he shook Dr. Stein's hand.

The doctor laughed with joy at his host's gratitude and turned and walked up to Jack's bedroom. Harley looked at The Joker with an impressed expression on her face. He gave her a smug look and put his hands in his pockets. "I looked it up online."

"Hello, little one," Dr. Stein said to Jack as he entered the bedroom and all he could do was wave at him wearily. "Did we get stuck out in the cold? Chasing those girls again, huh?" Jack struggled to laugh, but his chest was hurting badly and his muscles ached.

Dr. Stein shook his finger at him as he put on his stethoscope. "You know, I warned your poor mother a long time ago that you would be a heartbreaker. You watch out; girls are not worth getting sick…well, some of the time."

The Joker chuckled as the doctor continued to talk to Jack. "Ok, let's have a listen." The stethoscope was cold on Jack's chest, but it soothed him as his body's temperature was steadily rising. Dr. Stein stood up and took out his thermometer from his bag, shaking it and saying, "Put this under your tongue and keep it still."

After about a minute, he took it out of Jack's mouth and read it and nodded his head while clucking his tongue. "Yes, just as I thought. Miss Quinn, I'm afraid Little Jack here has a case of pneumonia."

Harley sighed miserably and looked pitifully at her son. The Joker put his arm around her, asking "What can we do to help him get better, Doc?"

Dr. Stein rummaged through his bag and brought out a bottle of reddish liquid. "I had a feeling it was something like this when you called me. Lots of kids get sick with it around this time and Little Jack is no exception." He pointed at the instructions on the label of the bottle. "He needs to take a spoonful of this twice a day, before breakfast and before bedtime. He needs to take it until it is empty, and yes, even if he appears to be better." He handed the bottle to The Joker and he looked at the label.

Dr. Stein looked at Harley and continued, "Children's Tylenol at least once a day will help bring down his fever. Also, no cough suppressants. All of the coughing Jack will be doing will help clear his lungs, and trust me, he will be doing lots of it. However, if coughing too much is giving him a sore throat, then use the lowest dose of suppressant possible to help him rest."

The Joker had gone over to Jack's bed and knelt beside him. He stroked his hair and Jack shifted onto his side and let out another raspy cough. "Thank you, Doc," he heard Harley say. "Is there anything else?"

Dr. Stein held her hand in his. "Yes, dahling. Let him rest, for the love of God. He doesn't need his mother to break out the old baby monitors and attach one to her hip. He's going to be okay."

As Harley escorted the doctor down the stairs and to the door, The Joker heard Jack's frail voice. "Dad?"

"Yeah, son?"

Jack slowly opened his eyes. "He didn't give me a shot."

"He didn't?" The Joker asked, feigning shock. "Hang on, I'll go get him."

"Daaaad…" Jack said, giggling.

The Joker smiled and stroked his son's face as he closed his eyes again. He picked up Humphrey from the end of the bed and put him on the pillow by Jack's head. Dr. Stein's advice was reassuring, but it didn't stop him from blaming himself.

If he had decided to tell him everything, had let him know about what he actually did while on the streets of Gotham, then he wouldn't have to be chased down and trapped by his father who had an itchy trigger finger. And now, he had congested lungs and was trying to maintain his breathing.

He bent down and kissed Jack's cheek as he softly snored, and Harley was back with a small glass of ice water and Jack's new medicine. "Jacky, baby," she softly said to him. He opened his eyes and smirked at her. "I need you to sit up for just a second, honey. Dr. Stein wants you to take this medicine twice a day, okay?"

He nodded and slowly raised himself up. The Joker kept his hand on his back to secure him while Harley made him take a spoonful and Jack swallowed it as he made a disgusted face.

The Joker chuckled and rubbed Jack's back while he took a drink of water. "You'll get used to it, kiddo." He carefully laid him back onto the bed and Jack drifted off to sleep. Harley kissed him on the cheek and she quietly crept to the door. "Pud?"

The Joker had stood up from his place on the bed and was now staring at his son's fragile body. He slowly turned his head and looked at her, his eyes holding a preoccupied expression.

Harley held out her hand and he took it and let her lead him to their bedroom where they both slept lightly, listening for the smallest cough to emerge from Jack's bedroom.

The Joker, however, was still awake hours later and he looked over at Harley as she slumbered. He shifted uncomfortably, startling her awake. "Mm," she grumbled. "What is it?"

"Nothing...I can't sleep..." he whispered.

She was quiet as she looked at him as he stared at the ceiling fan as it whirled slowly. "What is it, Mistah J?"

He closed his eyes and licked his lips. "I know I haven't been home a lot lately," he said. "And I just don't want you...or him...to think that I don't give a shit…"

Harley propped herself on her elbows and placed her hand on his stomach. "What? He doesn't think that, Daddy."

"Do _you_ think that?" he asked, opening his eyes and looking at her.

Her lips parted slightly and she looked back at him. "No...I don't...I do wish you would spend more time with him though..."

The Joker threw up his free hand and said, "You don't think I don't hate that I can't spend all my time with him." He sighed. "And then this happens. We should have told him everything when he learned to talk."

She kissed him on the cheek and he rested his face in the crook of her neck. She ran her fingers through his hair, saying, "You're his world, ya know. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't see a twinkle in his eye when you walk in that front door at night."

He smiled as she continued, "He's going to be fine," she continued. "We just both need to be truthful about...everything...from now on."


	10. Chapter 10

"Why don't you go shopping or something?" The Joker told Harley one morning.

It had been almost a week since Jack became ill and Harley had busied herself around the house making sure he was always being tended to, and The Joker had seen that she had finally worn herself down when he had come home one night to find her sleeping on the floor by Jack's bed.

"You've been cooped up in this place for too long," he told her.

"Are you sure, Puddin?" she said as he gave her purse to her and walked her to the front door. "You two are gonna be okay?"

The Joker grinned. "Of course, doll. We're big boys."

Harley sighed. "Okay, well, you know where his medicine is, right?"

"I think I threw it away..." Harley opened her mouth in disbelief and he chuckled. "I'm kidding! Now, go on!" He watched her as she walked to the car, and she turned around and blew a kiss to him.

He closed the door, walked to the living room and sat on the sofa, still in his undershirt and pajama pants. He picked up the newspaper on the coffee table and heard Jack's footsteps coming down the stairs and he said, "Hey, kiddo."

"Where's Mom?" he heard Jack's hoarse voice as he walked closer.

"She went out for a while. She'll be home later tonight."

He suddenly felt something land beside him on the sofa. He turned his head to see one of the big Nerf dart guns he had brought home one day and Jack was holding the other one with a sneaky grin on his face.

The Joker sat up, threw his paper aside and looked at him as he picked up the gun. "We can't tell Mom."

They suddenly ran to different places in the house while they silently counted to ten to themselves. Jack hid in the storage closet and The Joker hid behind the dryer that was under the stairs.

The object was to hunt one another and to shoot the other with a dart. This was a favorite of Jack's that had spawned after The Joker had read him the short story "The Most Dangerous Game."

The Joker soon heard the storage closet open slightly. "Ha!" he yelled. "I know where you are, kiddo. You're making it too easy." The door creaked open and he heard Jack's feet running across the floor. The Joker quickly shot around the corner on his knees, with his dart gun aimed. He didn't see him so he crept slowly with his back on the laundry machines. He peered around the corner and saw Jack's foot sticking out from underneath the kitchen table.

The Joker grinned as he aimed the gun and shot a dart at Jack's foot, which quickly moved out of the way before it could get hit.

"Ya missed me!" Jack shouted mockingly from the kitchen.

The Joker got to his feet and kept his body crouched down as he sneaked around the stairs. Just as his head appeared, a dart flew past him, barely missing his ear. "Dammit," he heard Jack say.

"Watch your mouth or I get a free shot," The Joker said as he followed the sound of Jack's muffled giggling. He followed it to the living room, but didn't see him. He stepped closer to the coffee table and knelt down to look under it. Just as his knee hit the floor, Jack shot up from behind the arm of the sofa and shot his father in the shoulder with a dart.

"BANG!" Jack shouted triumphantly and laughed.

He ran for it as his father chased him around the living room sofa. The Joker would fake Jack out, pretending to run around one way and then run around the other. They did this until The Joker finally jumped over the sofa and Jack yelled and ran under the stairs, hiding in the pile of clean laundry that had yet to be folded.

He watched his father looked for him behind the hamper and inside the dryer, knowing this was one of his son's favorite hiding places. He walked away and Jack waited a few seconds before standing up and looking around. He found himself face to face with The Joker, who was lying on top of the dryer with his gun pointed right at his forehead. "Gotcha, squirt!" he said as he pulled the trigger.

Jack ducked just in time and ran to the other side of the room. He threw himself on the floor and slid backwards on his back as he shot his father in the stomach. "POW!" Jack announced again.

The Joker looked at him with surprised eyes. "Oh, you're gonna get it now, Dirty Harry." He took big strides over toward Jack and raised his dart gun. Jack ran to the kitchen to hide under the table again, but as he turned, The Joker shot him in the forehead.

Jack fell on the floor with a thud and The Joker's jaw dropped. "Oh, shit," he said, slightly laughing. He ran over and knelt beside his son, who had one of his hands over his eye. "Jack, are you okay?" his father asked.

Jack whimpered pitifully as he slowly moved his hand away from his eye, but then let The Joker have it right in the forehead with a dart. "Fooled you!" Jack laughed as he shot up off of the floor and out of the kitchen.

The Joker ran after him and grabbed him from behind. Jack dropped his gun and laughed wildly as his father spun him around really fast. The Joker stopped spinning and tickled Jack until he was writhing on the floor in a fit of giggles. "So, you like to fight dirty, huh?" The Joker asked as he tickled him.

He pulled a dart from his gun, licking the rubber tip and pushing it onto Jack's forehead making him laugh even harder. The Joker pointed a finger in his face and exclaimed, "_Now_, I got you! Ha!"

Jack raised himself up and pulled the dart off of his forehead. He started to cough from laughing so much and The Joker knew it was time for them to stop. "Okay," he said to Jack. "Enough rough-housing. What else can we do?"

Jack stood up and thought for a moment. "Oh, Dad!" he said excitedly. "It's Saturday!"

The Joker chuckled. "Cartoons and cereal, it is."

Later that afternoon, Harley came home with loads of shopping bags in her hands. She set them down on the kitchen table and looked around when she noticed the TV was playing Bugs Bunny as he was singing opera. She walked over to the sofa and saw The Joker lying on his back with Jack lying on top of his chest, both of them sleeping. Harley glanced at the coffee table and spied the empty box of Lucky Charms and she grinned as she pulled out her cell phone and took a picture of the whole scene.

The sound of the cell phone closing woke up The Joker and she grinned at him. "You didn't take a picture, didya?" he whispered.

Harley gave him an innocent look. "No way, Pud. Why would I do that?" She looked at the empty cereal boxes again. "Is this all you two have eaten today?"

The Joker looked at the cereal boxes and then gave Harley an offended look. "It's Saturday," he said matter-of-factly.

She smiled as he slowly lifted himself up with his son still sleeping on his chest. He took him upstairs to put him in his bed, and when he came back to the kitchen, Harley met him with her arms crossed. "So, did Jack get some rest this morning?" she asked.

The Joker walked past her without looking at her and replied, "Uh, yeah. Sure did..."

He sat at the table and Harley stood over him, showing him the toy dart she had found on the floor. "Oh, really?" she asked.

The Joker looked at the dart and then gave Harley a guilty look. He pointed toward the stairs and said, "He started it."

Harley giggled and set the dart on the table as The Joker grabbed her wrists and pulled her to him, making her straddle him while he sat in the chair. "So," he whispered. "What'd ya get me?"

Harley sneered and answered, "What makes you think you deserve a present?"

The Joker gave her another offended look. "I watched after our boy while you went out and had fun."

"Yeah, at your request," Harley barked back, playfully. The Joker smiled at her and caressed her cheek with his thumb. She sighed. "I _did_ get you something, as a matter of fact, but you can't have any now."

She reached over and grabbed a small bag from the table. She pulled out a box of chocolate truffles and The Joker moaned. "You're evil," he said in a hungry tone.

"That's why you love me, right?" she giggled.

He played with the gold ribbon around the box and looked at Harley with pleading eyes. "May I have one now, pleeeaasse? I'll split it with ya."

He gave her his best smile and she agreed. "Okay, Daddy. Just one, though. You've already had a bowl of sugary cereal."

"Uh, three, actually," he mumbled as he took out a dark chocolate truffle and took a bite.

Harley's jaw dropped. "Oh my God! I'm amazed you were able to sleep."

"Sugar crash, baby," he said as he chewed slowly on his piece of chocolate.

"I think you've had enough sugar for one day, Puddin'," Harley scolded.

"Aw, come on, doll. You know I can never get enough sugar," he said as he grinded his hips upward against hers. She smiled as he fed her the truffle. The chocolate slowly melted in her mouth and the smooth taste of the raspberry center forced a moan out of her throat.

The Joker's eyes widened. "Wow," he said. "That easy, huh? Wish I could've known that back at Arkham."

She giggled as he sat up and started kissing her neck. This made her shiver and she wrapped her arms around him and grabbed his hair. She grinded her hips into his and he did likewise as his hands cupped her bottom. "Let's take this upstairs..." he whispered with a sly grin as bit her shoulder, making her moan.

They were soon interrupted by Jack's coughing as he was coming down the stairs. Harley quickly jumped off of The Joker and he moved his chair further under the table to hide his "excitement."

"Hey, baby," Harley said to Jack as he walked up to her. She knelt down and he lazily hugged her.

"Mom? What'd you buy me?" he mumbled.

Harley stood up and looked at The Joker, smiling. "You two are just alike."

The Joker gave Jack a "thumbs up" as Harley grabbed a big bag from the table. Jack smiled as she brought it over to him. "This is actually for you and Dad," she told Jack as she pulled out a huge box. The Joker shifted in his chair to get a better look and saw that it was a big toy helicopter.

"Wow!" Jack exclaimed. "That's so cool! Can it actually fly, Mom?"

Harley laughed. "Of course it can, Jacky. Look. It says here that it can fly up to 60 feet high and it can be steered by turning the controls instead of using joysticks."

Jack jumped up and looked at his father. "Wow! Isn't that cool, Dad?"

The Joker laughed. "Very cool. I didn't have anything like that when I was your age."

Suddenly, The Joker's cell phone rang and he answered, "Yeah?" He got up from the table and went to the corner of the kitchen to lean against the counter. "What the hell does he want?" he continued to talk on the cell. "Ringo, are you sure? Because if I know Maroni…"

Harley's head shot up. He had promised to no longer make deals with Maroni, and she gave him a curt glare. He caught it, but just glared back at her as he continued, "Okay. Get the others and meet me here." He slammed his cell phone shut, held Harley's gaze for another moment and walked up the stairs to the bedroom.

Harley looked over at Jack who was looking at the picture of the helicopter on the box with a disappointed look on his face. "Where's he going now?" he asked her quietly.

She ran her fingers through his hair and sighed. "I don't know, baby."

He was curious as to what he had been talking about on the phone, but it didn't matter right now. All he wanted to do was fly his new helicopter.

"It's okay, Mom," he told Harley. "I'll wait until tomorrow to play with my new toy. I don't want to play with it without Dad."

Jack rose from the floor and walked up the stairs. "Where are you going, honey?" Harley called after him.

Jack turned and looked at her. "To my room to read." He closed his door and Harley went upstairs to the bedroom to find The Joker touching up his face paint in the bathroom.

Harley sat on the bed and called after him, "I bought that toy for the both of you, ya know."

"Don't start, Harley," he growled.

She sighed and looked down at her hands. "What's going on, Pud?"

"I don't know," he answered as he applied dark makeup to his eyes. "But something sounded fishy about it."

"But it's Ringo, babe. Don't you trust him?" Harley pulled the sheets over her legs and leaned back against the headboard.

"He said that Maroni had ties with Cuccino."

"So?"

The Joker turned and stood in the bathroom door. "Cuccino is an arms dealer...well, _was _an arms dealer. Why would Maroni have ties with him if he was competition?"

She thought a moment. "Is Maroni still making deals with the cops?"

"Yeah...I'm sure Cuccino was peddling to them, too...what would meeting with me have to do with them having supposed ties? I could really give a shit just as long I didn't get screwed by either of them. Then again, he has put a rather small hit out on me..."

They were silent as he turned toward the mirror again to apply his paint. "Does...Maroni still manufacture coke outta that old warehouse?" Harley asked.

The Joker sniffed as he put away his toiletry bag. "I guess..."

She pursed her lips, saying, "You're not...taking any, are you?"

He stood still and looked at her reflection in the mirror as she sat on the bed. "I think you'd know, darlin'."

Harley nodded to herself in agreement, remembering watching him go through painful withdrawals in Arkham.

She also thought about how Ringo had been acting weird lately, and had noticed him carefully observing the other men as well as The Joker's plans. "Do you think, then, that Ringo has been in the Family all this time? Is that it?" she asked him.

He came out of the bathroom with his fresh face paint on and started to put on his shirt. "Yep. I also think he isn't calling the others either...so I did…as well as back-up."

Harley's jaw dropped. The only time The Joker ever called any of his other guys was when he was pulling off something big. These were the guys that Harley wasn't too familiar with because they were all troubled teens or homeless crooks that she didn't trust around her or her son.

He noticed her concerned look and came over to her as he buttoned his vest. He knelt in front of her and looked into her eyes. "I want you and Jack to go over to Ivy's tonight and stay there until I call for you to come back," he told her as he caressed one of her legs. "This may get ugly."

"You're not gonna do this thing here, are you?" she said with slight caution in her voice.

The Joker sighed. "That's why I don't want you or Jack around."

She nodded, but continued to look down at her hands with a worried expression.

He chuckled. "Hey?" he asked. "What does it feel like to kiss a guy who's wearing your lipstick? Is it like kissing yourself?"

Harley gave him a confused look, but couldn't control her laughter. "Does that mean you want a kiss, Daddy?" she asked back.

"No, it was a rhetorical question..." he whispered as he pressed his lips against hers.

Townshend was soon loading their bags in the car as The Joker walked Harley and Jack out the front door. He knelt down to Jack's level and ran his fingers through his hair. "You be good, ya hear me, kiddo?" he told his son.

Jack nodded and started to climb into the car when The Joker put a hand on his shoulder. Jack turned and faced him and his father picked him up and embraced him. Jack squeezed The Joker's neck and asked, "Can I stay here, Dad? I wanna help."

His father was caught off guard, saying firmly, "Absolutely not." When he saw the slight surprise in Jack's face, he licked his lips and muttered, "You need to stay with Mom, okay? Take care of her..."

Jack smirked and nodded as he was helped into the backseat and watched as The Joker turned to Harley, who looked worried.

His father pulled her to him and kissed her deeply. She broke the kiss and hugged him tightly. "Take care tonight, Puddin'," she pleaded to him.

He kissed the top of her head. "Don't worry about me," he told her. "Take care of our boy." She nodded as he continued, "I'll call you in the morning."

Harley climbed into the car and as they drove away, The Joker saw Jack's head pop up in the back window.

Jack had a feeling of what his father was going to do tonight and he wanted to be there.

Before he could think on it more, Harley rubbed his back and said, "Maybe Aunt Ivy can pop some popcorn and we can watch a movie." Jack grinned and nodded his head. He liked going to Aunt Ivy's but his curiosity was getting the better of him.

I wanna show Dad that I can help, he thought.

Later that night, Harley and Ivy put Jack to bed in her guest room. They shut the door and sat in the living room where Ivy turned on the radio to soft jazz. "I knew Ringo was up to something," she said to Harley. "I never did like him."

Harley shrugged. "He never liked me for some reason. Hopefully, Mistah J will fix everything."

Ivy raised an eyebrow at her and said, "You mean like kill him?"

Harley looked at her and shrugged again. "If that's the way it goes, I say good riddance."

Jack was listening through the crack in the door and had heard every word they said. He could tell that Ringo had never liked him or his mother, which is why Jack would avoid his path whenever he was around. He thought about the condemning and reproachful look Ringo always gave him when he would catch him listening to the details of a job as they sat in the kitchen.

Jack quietly closed the door and put Humphrey, his elephant, on the bed. "Sorry, Humphrey," he whispered to his stuffed animal. "But Dad needs me."

He pulled on his jeans and his sweater and bundled himself up in his thick purple plaid coat that his father had gotten him. He quietly opened up the window and peeked his head out and peered down at the ground. Ivy's apartment was only on the second floor, but he couldn't chance making a wrong move. He climbed onto the ledge and let himself drop onto the canopy of the entrance of the building. He peered over the edge and saw that the doorman had temporarily gone inside, and he swayed himself on the bar that held the awning and dropped onto the concrete.

He spotted his first landmark, the Kosher deli to the left of the building, and ran as fast as he could back home.


	11. Chapter 11

"That no good, dirty Mick!" Angus muttered as he and The Joker stood outside the abandoned theatre.

"Take it easy, kid," The Joker reassured him. "Save it for later."

Angus sighed and pulled out his cigarettes. The Joker moved closer to him and asked, "Lemme have one."

"Sure, Boss," Angus replied, slightly shocked. He gave him one and lit it for him. He watched him take a deep drag and slowly exhale the smoke. "I didn't know you smoked, Boss," Angus told him.

The Joker smirked. "It's been a while, Gus," he said. "Just don't tell the Missus, huh?" They shared a laugh as Townshend drove up and parked the car into a dark part of the alley to conceal it. He came around the corner and was just as angry about the Ringo situation. "Hey, Boss?" he asked as he went up to Angus to bum a cigarette. "Do you think Buddy's in on this, too? I mean, they always seemed close, ya know?"

The Joker did think so, which was why he had called for back-up. He knew Ringo and Buddy would probably be backed by Maroni's goons and he needed all the extra muscle he could get.

The others arrived in small groups at a time. When they had gathered, The Joker put out his cigarette and briefed them on what was about to happen. Suddenly, cars drove up and stopped at the end of the alley, andd with the headlights still shining, three figures stepped out of the car and walked toward The Joker's group.

Townshend and Angus flanked The Joker's sides as he walked to meet them, and as they approached, he could make out the faces of Maroni and Ringo, but the third man kept his fedora over his eyes. They stopped in the middle of the alley and Maroni spoke. "Good evening, Joker. May I say that it's been a while since we last met?"

The Joker smiled. "That's because you're too chicken shit to kill me yourself," he retorted. "Then again, you would've ended up dead like the rest of your hired men." He heard his group chortle and he continued, grinning, "What's the matter, Sal my pal? Upset about me puttin' a bullet in your better half, Cuccino?"

"Cuccino was a nobody," Maroni rejoined. "I heard you were being paid off by the Fileppellis...what happened to our little business, Joker? I was being straight with you."

The Joker stood silently, thinking on his promise to Harley about him breaking off deals with Maroni and The Mob, in general. He intended to keep that promise this time. "What the hell are you doing dropping in on my home, uninvited?"

"Oh," said Maroni. "But I _was_ invited. After your men came to me and said they weren't happy with the way you were running things."

Ringo and the other man stepped forward, making the rest of The Joker's gang pull out their switchblades and ready their guns. The Joker squinted as the third man lifted his head and showed him his face. Angus and Townshend's brows furrowed in anger, but The Joker just grinned.

"Hello, Elvis," he said as Elvis's green eyes stared him down.

Jack knew he was nearly home when he passed Brown's Shoe Repair. He was running as fast as he could, hoping he wasn't too late in seeing his father. All of a sudden, Jack slipped on the wet concrete as a dark figure dropped in front of him. The stranger lifted himself up and gazed down at Jack, who slowly got to his feet and stepped closer.

"You're...you're that weirdo bat-guy..." he said, amazed.

The dark figure smiled. "That's the first time I've heard it put that way...but I guess others have far less decent names."

Jack scanned Batman's outfit and cape. "Why do you dress like that?" he asked him.

"Why are you not at home?" Batman asked back.

Jack gulped. "None of your business," he said, defiantly.

Batman nodded and said, "Your mother will be worried about you."

"I'll be back before she knows I'm even gone," Jack said defiantly. He wasn't about to let some stranger in a Halloween costume make him go back.

"It's for your own safety, kid," Batman assured him.

Jack childishly said. "Outta my way!" He tried to walk past him, but Batman's cape blocked him. Jack grew impatient and grabbed the nearest weapon: an old, worn-out shoe that had fallen out of a trash can. He threw it blindly at Batman and the shoe hit him in the mouth as Jack ran toward his next landmark: a movie theatre that was showing a re-screening of _The Warriors_.

As he approached, he could hear a loud commotion in the alley and he peered through the fence along the abandoned worksite and saw men fighting with both fists and weapons. He ran closer and hid in a bush a few yards away from the violent scene.

Jack started to worry but then saw his father holding down another man and slashing his face. As soon as he would finish, he would throw his fist into the stomach of one that would try to attack him.

He had never seen this side of him. He was whispering cheers for his father, whose face and hands were now covered in giant splatters of blood.

Suddenly, a man in a fedora jumped on The Joker from behind. Jack held his breath in shock, but was relieved when The Joker threw the man over his back, making him fall just a couple of feet from where Jack was hiding. The man's gun had landed in front of the bush and the man in the fedora crawled over to pick it up, but he stopped when he saw Jack in his hiding place.

Elvis instantly recognized those baby blue eyes and he smiled at Jack, who gave him a terrified look. "Hey, kid," greeted Elvis, but he was soon silenced by a bullet through his head. Jack stifled a scream as he saw his father lower his gun and run back over to his men.

Jack could feel Elvis's blood on his face and he wiped off a bit with his finger. He looked at how red it was in the dim light that barely shined into the bush and he could smell the saltiness of it as it dripped off of his nose.

Strangely, it didn't bother him. He wanted to keep watching. He wanted to study his father and observe him as he fought so bravely against these men who were jumping onto him one by one.

Jack quietly moved to another bush to get a closer look at his father and saw that he was fighting Maroni. Jack knew that they weren't friends anymore, so he understood that whatever Maroni got, he would deserve it, just like the others.

Suddenly, he saw Batman fly over, unnoticed by the fighting crowd below. Jack wanted to yell a warning, but stopped himself when he saw Maroni give The Joker a swift punch on the chin. He fell backwards and was slow in getting up as Maroni drew his gun and put it to The Joker's forehead.

Before he could pull the trigger, however, Maroni's head flew back and his body tensed and crumpled onto the asphalt, a boomerang in the shape of a bat by his head. The Joker looked up and saw Batman's silhouette fly overhead to the next building. He aimed his gun but was stopped when Ringo kicked him in the back. Jack yelled an angry "No!" but nobody could hear him in the noisy alley.

The Joker stood up and glared at Ringo. "Twelve years, Ringo!" he shouted. "You sell me out to Maroni after twelve years! Call me strange, but I find that quite offensive!" he chuckled maniacally.

Ringo steadied his gun, but didn't shoot. "Things are changing, Joker," he rebutted. "You've changed. Ever since you knocked up your whore and had that little shit running around…" He didn't finish his sentence because Angus had shot him in the leg from behind. Ringo's body contorted in pain and Townshend sent a bullet through his other leg, splitting the knee cap.

Maroni's guys put their Boss's unconscious body into the car. As they drove away, The Joker caught a glimpse of Buddy in the driver's seat. The Joker took his finger and mimed slashing his throat when he caught Buddy's eye. He was satisfied when Buddy hit the accelerator.

Townshend and Angus stood at The Joker's sides as Ringo writhed around on the ground. "Hold him up," The Joker ordered. They lifted Ringo to his feet and The Joker kicked him in his shattered knee cap. Ringo screamed in agony as he dangled between Townshend and Angus. The Joker opened his knife and stepped closer as Ringo's eyes took on a pleading look.

"You know, old pal," The Joker told him. "You're right. Things are changing. You've changed, too, Ringo. You need to _smile_ more." Ringo's eyes widened in horror as Joker put the knife in his mouth, the blade already slicing the corners.

Jack had a clear view this time of what his father actually did to his victims' faces. He saw the blade slowly slice through the corners of Ringo's mouth and move up through the cheeks, blood flowing like a waterfall onto his father's gloved hands and staining the sleeves of his coat. When The Joker finished, Ringo collapsed onto his back, blood gushing from his open wounds and forming a giant, lustrous pool beneath him.

The three men watched Ringo as he slowly bled to death. He looked at them with pleading eyes, and The Joker aimed his gun at him and shot him multiple times in the face. Ringo's writhing stopped and Jack ran back to Ivy's apartment, filled with confusing emotions about what he just witnessed. He was about to turn the corner when he saw his reflection in a deli window. He had to get the blood off his face. He quickly washed under an old water faucet on a building and dried with his jacket sleeves.

**The next morning**

The Joker called Harley and told her that it was safe to come home, but to not expect him until later that evening. "I have some business to take of that didn't get finished last night," he told her.

"Okay, Puddin'," she told him. "Be careful." Before she could hang up, The Joker said, "Hey. Let me talk to Jack."

Harley hesitated, but brought Jack the phone. He put it to his ear. "Hey, Dad," he said quietly.

"Hey, kiddo. You sleep okay last night?"

Jack hesitated and looked at his mother, who gave him a disapproving look. "Um, yeah, Dad," he replied. "Still kinda sleepy, though."

The Joker laughed on the other end of the phone. "Well, we can't all of us sleep late, son. I'll see you tonight, okay?"

"Okay, Dad. Bye." He closed Harley's phone and gave it back to her.

It had been an interesting early morning in Ivy's apartment. At around four o clock, a loud bang sounded at her door and she grabbed a baseball bat she kept in the hallway as Harley followed close behind with a rolling pin. Ivy answered the door and saw the night doorman standing in front of her with a suspicious look on his face.

"Excuse me, ma'am," he said. "But does this child belong to you?"

Ivy looked down and saw Jack looking at her, his arm being firmly clutched by the doorman. "I caught him trying to sneak into the building. He claims to be living here."

Ivy put down the bat and Harley walked to the door. "He's mine, Lloyd. Thanks for bringing him up." The doorman let Jack go and he stood there looking at Ivy.

She sneered and yelled, "Get bent, Lloyd. It's too early to tip." She slammed the door and Harley wasted no time in scolding her son.

"What the hell do you think you're doing out of bed, young man?" she demanded of him.

Jack was at a loss for words. He was always taught to respect his parents, but if he told his mother what he actually did, she would either freak out and ground him to his room for eternity or just merely beat him within an inch of his life. He stammered as he answered her. "Uh, I…I went to the park," he lied.

Harley put her hands on her hips. "The park? What were you thinking sneaking out and running to play in the park? You could have been kidnapped or worse!" Jack heard her voice crack and could see tears start to form in her eyes.

He couldn't believe that he lied to his mother. He felt so ashamed, but he wanted to protect her because he knew that if she ever found out where he really went, she would just get worried even more.

However, he wanted to tell her that he knew that what his father did was to protect them, especially after seeing what he did to Ringo, who obviously deserved what he got for his betrayal.

She didn't punish him and he knew what that meant. Usually if Harley did nothing, The Joker definitely would do something.

When they arrived back at the old theater, Harley sent Jack outside to play as she was doing laundry. He ran out to his makeshift fort and sat staring out of the windows. He looked over at the empty alley where he had witnessed the chaos the night before.

He didn't feel like playing. All he could think of was the way his father looked as he fought and how good he was at using his knife. "I wonder if he could teach me that," he said out loud to himself. "I'll have to know how someday, right? I mean, he may want me to help him one day, when I'm older maybe." He picked up a small twig and tried to mimic his father's techniques.

He sat in his fort for what seemed like hours and noticed that the sun was already starting to set. He heard Townshend's car drive up and moved to the corner of his fort, listening to his father's voice talking to the others, laughing and swearing about the night before. He heard the front door open and close and Townshend's car drive away.

Minutes later, however, he gulped nervously as the front door violently opened and slammed hard on its hinges.

"Jack Quinn!" his father's deep, angry voice echoed through the abandoned lot.

Jack knew that he should immediately climb out of his fort and run over to his father, but he just couldn't move. He heard his father's voice again. "I know you're out here, boy!"

Jack took a deep breath and slowly climbed out of his fort. He turned and saw his father standing at the edge of the lot, and The Joker's brow wrinkled deeper in anger when he saw Jack. "Inside!" he said in an austere voice.

When Jack finally obeyed and followed his father into the theater, he was led to the kitchen table where The Joker had draped his purple coat over one of the chairs. Jack stopped and looked at him and The Joker pulled another chair out from the table and pointed a finger to the seat of it.

"Sit," he told Jack severely.

Jack climbed into the chair and sat with his hands in his lap. He noticed that Harley was still doing laundry, but also noticed that she was listening because of how slow she worked.

The Joker stood in front of Jack and crossed his arms. Jack glanced up at him and saw that some of his makeup had been sweated off from earlier that day, but his dark eyes were still encircled by the even darker paint around them. His eyes pierced through him and Jack quickly put his head down and stared at his father's still bloody shoes.

"Would you mind enlightening me on why you sneaked out of Ivy's apartment last night?" The Joker asked his son, rather calmly. Jack didn't know what to say. He twiddled his thumbs in embarrassment until his father's stern voice snapped him out of his trance. "Answer me!" Jack didn't comply, so his father continued.

"Where did you go last night, Jack?" Jack hesitated and his father leaned in closer. "_Where_…did you go?" he asked in a harsher tone.

Jack gave him the same answer as he did his mother. "Um…the park," he answered quietly.

The Joker straightened and raised an eyebrow. "The park? What, you couldn't sleep?" Jack lowered his head further. "Eyes up here, Jack!"

Jack's head shot up and his eyes met his father's. "Do you have any clue what can happen to a little kid in the middle of the night in an empty park? If you did this again, Jack, you may never make it home. Did that ever cross your mind?" The Joker noticed that his son's brow was starting to crease in annoyance. "Is there something you wanna share with me, boy?"

Jack did want to share something. After all the nights his father went out without tucking him into bed or reading to him or even help him with his new helicopter, he just couldn't hold it in any longer. "It isn't fair!" Jack shouted in frustration.

The Joker's face became tense with anger. "Excuse me?"

Harley had stopped what she was doing and listened with her jaw dropped as he continued, "You say that, but you get to go out at night when you know what could happen to you! It isn't fair! If you can, why can't I?"

The Joker leaned into Jack again and answered in a severe tone of voice, "Because, little boy, last time I checked, eight years old wasn't exactly 'adult!' I know what's out there and I'm able to protect myself...you're not!"

He set his jaw and continued, pacing in front of his son, "I'm your father, Jack. You will respect and obey me and do the same for your mother. Do you know how terrified she was when she realized that you had been out of bed and out in the streets at night?" Jack glanced over at Harley and saw that she was wiping a small tear from her cheek. He felt even more ashamed than when he had lied to her.

His father loudly snapped his fingers and ordered, "Eyes front..." Jack turned his head back to his father who was starting to lose his patience. "Is this gonna be a habit, son? We put you to bed and you decide to take a late night field trip? Because I certainly don't want to hear of you doing this stunt again, do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir," Jack quickly answered.

The Joker stared at him for a few seconds, his eyes piercing his son's. Jack shifted in his chair, but kept his eyes on his father. The Joker suddenly threw his hands up in frustration. "I'm done talking. Get upstairs."

Jack gulped, knowing what was next and he didn't move from his seat. His father stepped closer to him when he saw that his son wasn't obeying. "Do I need to help you upstairs?" he growled. Jack jumped off of his chair and walked up to his bedroom.

When his door closed, The Joker heard Harley walk out of the front door. He rolled his eyes, following her. "Harley," he called after her.

"I'm sorry, Pud, but you know I don't like being in the house when you…when you punish him," she told him as she opened the backseat door of the car.

The Joker stood in front of her and stopped her, saying, "Harl, you know my rules, and he's disobeyed us…twice, I might add. I think he knows what's coming to him." Harley nodded and started to cry. "Harl," he said and rubbed her arms. "Come on; stop it!"

"What the hell is wrong with me? I let him sneak out again..." she blurted.

The Joker sneered in anger once more. "Don't start that. He knows that we trust him to stay in bed the moment we put him into it." He paused and when he saw that she tried to give him another pleading look on behalf of their son, he shook his head, saying, "He's gotta be dealt with..." He turned and went into the theater, hearing Harley slam the car door, knowing that she was laying on the seat with her fingers in her ears.

Jack's bedroom door opened minutes later and he looked up and saw The Joker holding a belt in his right hand. He shut the door behind him and turned to Jack, whose heart had started pounding when he heard his father's footsteps coming to his room.

They stared at one another and a small lump grew in The Joker's throat when he saw Jack's blue eyes begin to fill with tears. He sighed, saying, "Did you come back here...after I told you not to?"

Jack's eyes grew wider, but he nodded. "Yes, sir."

The Joker nodded, too. "So, you saw everything?"

"Yes, sir..."

His father licked the corners of his mouth. "That means you lied, too, doesn't it?"

"Dad, I thought you would get-"

"Quiet; you had your chance," The Joker told him firmly. He glanced down at the belt in his hand and asked, "Do you know why I'm doing this, Jack?"

Jack looked down and nodded and his father explained, "It's because that, while I'm willing to punish you another way, I don't think anything else is gonna assure me that you're not gonna do this again."

He stepped forward as Jack looked up at him. "That's why I hope that what I'm about to give you sticks...because I really don't want to do this again for a long time."

Later that night, around his bedtime, Jack sat crying on his bedroom floor underneath his window. His knees were to his chest as he wiped his cheeks and he reflected what happened after his punishment. He had been told to stay in his room until morning and Harley, after finding out that he had lied to her about the park, made him go to bed without dinner. His stomach growled, but he kept his mind on other things, knowing that he deserved what he got for lying to them.

A knock suddenly sounded on his door and he watched as The Joker entered his bedroom with a plate of what looked like a sandwich. They glanced at each other briefly and his father sat on the side of the bed, his back to him. "Come here," he muttered, placing the sandwich on the bedside table.

Jack silently got up and walked to his father, trying to show that he was upset and angry at the punishment he received. However, when he felt The Joker wipe away a tear with his thumb, Jack began to cry again, making him be lifted onto his father's lap.

Neither of them spoke for a moment, and then The Joker asked, "Jack, did I ever tell you about my dad?"

Jack was silent and then answered, "No, sir, but...Mom said that he was mean to you."

The Joker smirked and nodded. "Yeah, son...he was."

"What did he do?" Jack asked.

"He...he abused me, Jack," The Joker said frankly. "Do you know what 'abuse' is?" Jack shrugged and his father continued, "It means he beat me…just because. He would hit me, punch me...sometimes kick me. He was just…a bully."

"Why did he do all that, Dad?" Jack asked. This was the first time he had heard of someone hurting his father and getting away with it.

"I don't know, son. I guess because he knew I couldn't fight back; I was only about your age." The Joker stroked Jack's hair and said, "Kiddo...you know I really hate…punishing you. I don't do it to be mean. It's just that occasionally you…"

"Dad," Jack interrupted. "It's okay." He knew what his father was thinking and he looked at him. "I don't think you beat me."

The Joker licked his bottom lip. "Were you...scared last night...after what you saw?"

Jack sniffed. "I was a little...like, what if you...died?"

The Joker bit his lip and wiped more tears from his son's cheek. "Son," he whispered. "I plan on teaching you lots of things before I go, but you need to remember that the world out there is not going to be very kind to you. It wasn't to me, and you need to learn to take care of yourself. That's how I survived. I'm not gonna lie to you; being our kid, your life isn't gonna be easy and you're gonna have to fight."

Jack rested his head on his father's shoulder. The Joker chuckled "Don't worry. You won't be alone for now." Jack wrapped his arms around his father's neck and The Joker rubbed his back.

After a moment, he set Jack on the bed and told him as he motioned to the sandwich, "Eat your PB and J before I do, kiddo." He stood up as Jack giggled. He turned before leaving the bedroom and said, "And don't tell Mom. Just put the plate under your bed, okay?"


	12. Chapter 12

It was three in the morning and Harley came downstairs to find someone opening the refrigerator door. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and squinted, saying, "Puddin, you're back already?"

"Hey, Mom," said Jack as he raised his head from behind the door.

Harley lightly gasped and chuckled. "Oh, honey, I'm sorry. I don't have my contacts in."

Jack grinned. "S'alright."

"I swear," she continued. "You're looking more like your dad everyday."

He chuckled. He didn't think he looked like The Joker, but he still couldn't help but take those kinds of remarks as compliments on his part.

At fourteen-years-old, Jack's chin and nose resembled his father's and they shared the same trim build as well as lanky posture. Their hair was the same slightly curled texture, but Jack's was longer now and he took to pulling it back into a ponytail.

"Why are you up, honey?" Harley asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

"I couldn't sleep," he told her as he poured a small glass of orange juice. "I came down here to watch TV."

Harley followed her son to the sofa. "You stay up too late reading those scary stories..." she told him.

He smiled, looking at her. "You forget that I inherited those Clive Barker books from _you_, Mom."

She crinkled her nose and shook her head. "Those are your dad's, mister. I can't stomach Barker. I prefer King."

"King sucks," Jack muttered, lazily flipping through channels.

She sat on the sofa and hugged her shoulders, glancing at the front door. "Do you know if your father was going anywhere after the heist tonight?"

Jack took a sip of his drink and shook his head. "I don't think he was going anywhere else," he answered. "Don't worry, Mom. You know Dad. He'll be back in no time."

Harley smirked at him. "Well...I know, but...I can't help but be a little concerned." She tried to keep her interest in the television program, but sighed. "I guess I'll go back to bed. You gonna be okay, Jacky?"

He nodded. "Mm-hmm..."

A few moments later, the front door opened and Jack saw his father come in with Angus, Townshend and two of his newer men, whom Harley had dubbed Clapton and Harrison.

The Joker approached his son and patted his shoulder. "Hey, kiddo. What're you doin' up?"

"Couldn't sleep," Jack told him.

Townshend playfully punched Jack on the arm. "Those girlies keepin' ya up, stud?"

Jack laughed out loud. "Whatever, Towser. Like any girl would be interested in me."

Angus plopped down in the seat next to Jack and said, "Ah, kid. Don't be so sure. You just need the right girl is all." Angus took a sip of the beer Clapton had given him.

The Joker stopped at the bottom step and asked, "Your mother's awake, isn't she?"

"She always is at three in the morning, Dad..." Jack answered.

The Joker sighed. "I thought so. I forgot to call her on the way home."

Towshend chuckled. "You're gonna get it now, huh Boss?"

The Joker laughed. "Oh. I'll 'get' it, all right," he joked and waggled his tongue.

His men laughed as Jack said, "Dad! Eew!"

The Joker laughed again and went upstairs to Harley. He found her in bed asleep on her side and he quietly took off his jacket, shoes, and shirt and climbed in behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He kissed her hungrily on her neck and he heard her moan as his hand reached up her shirt. She opened her eyes and faced him. "You're home," she said with a smile. "I was getting worried."

The Joker chuckled. "You know I can take care of myself. I'm a big boy."

Harley smiled coquettishly and grabbed his crotch. "You sure are."

"Ooh. You saucy little minx," he playfully scolded as he raised himself up and took off his undershirt.

Harley bit her lip and took off her tank top and he pressed himself against, inhaling the sweet smell of her clean skin. He nibbled her shoulder and slowly moved downward until he was under the covers. She felt him take off her shorts and move her panties aside and she gasped as she felt his tongue glide along the slit of her pussy.

She whimpered as she felt him begin to massage her clitoris with his thumb as he tongued her deeper. Harley soon felt herself climaxing and started to move her hips along with his tongue, and he gripped her thighs as he growled. She moaned quietly as her hips bucked against him. She took a deep breath as she relaxed into her pillow.

The Joker sighed as he got up and went into the bathroom. "That was quick..." he muttered. "Ya miss me?"

Harley giggled but, as she listened to the sink tap turn on, her smile soon disappeared. "Am I still pretty?"

The Joker came out of the bathroom with a confused look. "Way to kill the mood, Harley" He realized the brunt of his words when he saw tears welling up in her eyes. "Hey," he said, walking to the bed. "What's with the waterworks?"

Harley sniffed as she answered, "I'm old..."

"Oh, shut up, Harley..." he mumbled.

"Gee, thanks..." she said, coldly, wrapping herself tightly in the sheets and turning away from him.

"Aww," he cooed. "Here comes the pout...the famous, widdle Hawley pout..."

"Shut up," she mumbled through light tears.

His grin vanished and he rolled his eyes as he sat on his side of the bed. "Did you...enjoy that?"

There was a small pause and she mumbled, "Yeah..."

"Then you need to be nice to Daddy," The Joker told her. "Since he gives you such...nice surprises..."

Harley quickly turned to him. "Tell me I'm not old."

He groaned. "Harley...you're...older...I'm older...we have a teenager." Her whimper assured him that his statement didn't make her feel any better, so he leaned in, his lips to her ear. "You're still a cutie..."

She raised her eyes to him. "Really, Puddin'?"

The Joker chuckled. "Come on...you need to sleep," he said, sliding under the sheet.

Later that afternoon, Jack was walking the streets of Gotham City, heading the bookstore he frequented that was on the south end of downtown. He loved to read on all kinds of subjects, and the bookstore also housed used vinyl records that he would flip through when he couldn't decide on a book.

Jack stopped at a small coffee shop just two doors down and, as he stood in line, he heard giggling and turned his head and saw three girls that were around his age. They were huddled at a small table and coyly averting their eyes from Jack as they sniggered. One of them finally smiled and waved at him and Jack did likewise which made them snicker even more.

Jack was confused. He was only trying to be polite.

After he placed his order, he sat down at the free table near the girls as he waited for his drink. One of them, a girl with red hair and freckles, asked him, "Why is you hair like that?"

Jack was bewildered at this kind of question, but he answered, "Uh, I like it this way."

The girl smiled as her two friends giggled loudly and they suddenly stood up and walked out.

"What the hell was that?" Jack wondered aloud to himself as he took his drink and headed to the bookstore.

The cowbell on the door clanged loudly as he entered. "Hey, Ernie," Jack greeted the middle-aged-man behind the counter.

"Hey, Jacky boy," he replied as he continued to read his paper.

Jack smiled. If only Ernie knew who he actually was and not just think he was some kid that appeared to be a truant student from the school down the street.

He headed straight for the Classics section to try to find Robinson Crusoe, a novel suggested to him by his mother who had read it in college. It had piqued his interest and he finally found some older editions and picked one up to get closer look at the cover.

As he flipped through the pages, he heard familiar laughter and peeked around a bookshelf to see the girls from the coffee shop.

He gulped and put the book under his arm as he walked down the aisle, pretending to be interested in something on the other end of it. The girls went to the spot he was just in and continued to stare and giggle at him while they sipped their iced coffees. Jack didn't know how to escape these lunatics as they stepped closer, but a melodious voice suddenly rescued him.

"Here's that book you said you wanted."

He turned and saw a girl with long brown hair and deep brown eyes, holding a George Orwell book.

She was absolutely gorgeous. Their eyes locked for a moment and she smiled. Jack gave her a goofy grin and turned to see the other girls sneering at them and walking away.

"Thanks," he told this beautiful stranger. "You're a life-saver."

"No," she said. "I'm Lucy."

She held out her hand and he shook it and said, "Jack."

"Nice to meet you, Jack," she said, smiling. "I see you love the classics."

Jack grinned. "Yeah. I see you do, too."

She held up the book in her hand. "Oh, this? Nah. It's for school. We have to read it, but it looks kinda weird. I mean, animals talking?"

"Oh, no. It's a great book," Jack assured her as he timidly scratched the nape of his neck. "The talking animals are just a metaphor for…well, I don't wanna ruin it for you." She smiled again and their eyes locked once more.

There was an awkward silence between them, save for the music playing throughout the store. Lucy finally said, "I've never seen you at school."

"Oh, uh, I'm home-schooled," Jack quickly answered.

Lucy chuckled. "Lucky you."

"Yeah, I guess," Jack smiled as Lucy moved a strand of hair from her face. "Um," she started. "You have nice eyes. They're very pretty."

Jack started to blush and he chuckled. "Uh, thanks."

Lucy shifted and said, "Well, I gotta go. My mom's waiting outside."

"Ok," Jack said. "Nice to meet you, Lucy."

She turned and walked away but stopped at the end of the aisle to face him again. "Uh, I'm usually here on Wednesdays, after school. Will I see you then?"

Jack blinked. "Yeah!" he said rather loudly.

Lucy smiled. "Ok. Bye, Jack." She waved as she walked to the cash register.

Jack had a bounce in his step as he walked home with his book under his arm. His mind was reeling with the thought of seeing Lucy again.

He turned the corner at Brown's Shoe Repair and stopped when he heard laughter. He looked down the sidewalk and saw three boys leaning against the building smoking cigarettes. One of them saw Jack and said, "Well, well, well. Hey, Louie. Look who it is."

The taller of the boys turned and Jack was glaring into the face of Louie Maroni, Sal Maroni's grandson. He was slightly taller than Jack, but Jack wasn't scared of him. He didn't like to cross him, however, because of the tense partnership The Joker and Maroni once had. Louie knew this and always took advantage of Jack's presence by degrading him as much as possible.

Louie puffed on his cigarette and walked over to Jack. "Hey there, loser," he said in a nasally tone. "You on your way home to your mommy?"

One of the other boys guffawed and added, "Yeah. Give her a kiss for me, huh?"

They all laughed as Jack tried to push past them, but Louie shoved him. "Where you think you're goin', freak?"

"I'm going home, remember?" Jack retorted.

"Hang on," Louie demanded as he pushed him again. "I got a question for ya." He puffed his cigarette again and blew the smoke in Jack's face. "How did a sexy bitch like your mom end up with a creepy clown like your old man?"

"Shut up, Louie," Jack shouted, his ears starting to burn with anger.

The others pretended to shake with fear, but Louie put his face to Jack's. "What'd you say to me, faggot?"

Jack shoved Louie out of his way, but Louie pushed him and Jack fell on his back onto the sidewalk. The other boys laughed as Jack got up, his bottom lip bleeding and his chin scraped. Jack picked up his heavy novel and swung it into Louie's face. He stumbled backwards and then was suddenly on Jack.

The two scuffled in the middle of the alley as the other boys cheered Louie on, who was giving Jack multiple blows to the face. He finally stopped and held Jack's throat. He leaned in and whispered, "Ya know how your old man _really_ got his scars? From suckin' too much dick while he was in the pen."

Jack's rage suddenly erupted and he threw Louie off of him. When Louie stood up, Jack reciprocated the blows, punching his cheeks bones and watching as blood sputtered past his lips. He finally kicked him in the stomach and kneed him in the face, making Louie collapse on the ground.

Louie's friends fell silent and helped him up as he yelled, through small tears, "This ain't over!"

Jack watched them carry Louie out of the alley and picked up his book to limp his way home. He was still thinking of Lucy and of how lucky they both were that she didn't see that. He then thought of another woman and knew exactly how she would act when she saw him.

"Holy shit!" Harley exclaimed as Jack came in and sat at the kitchen table. Harley brought him a tall glass of water. "What the hell happened to you, son?"

Jack took a big gulp of water and answered his mother in a tired voice, "I got in a fight."

"Jesus, Jack!" Harley cursed. "Are you kidding me? Stay there. We gotta get you fixed up." She put a bag of frozen vegetables onto his swollen left eye and ran upstairs to get her makeshift first aid kit.

Jack could feel his lip oozing blood and there was a sharp pain in his right arm. He feared for a moment that it was broken due to the fact that it was throbbing and was almost numb.

He sighed as he heard the bedroom door open and close and soon his father was beside him. The Joker lifted the frozen bag off of Jack's eye. "That's quite a shiner, kiddo," he told him and gently placed it back on his eye. "You didn't call your mom a 'bitch,' did ya?"

"Well, Dad. I…"

"You got into a fight, didn't you?" The Joker interrupted him. "It was that Maroni kid, wasn't it?" Jack slowly nodded. His father sighed and sat down beside him. "Son, what did I tell you about that kid? You should have avoided him like I told you to, because I knew this would happen one day…"

"Yeah, Dad," Jack said, sarcastically. "I meant to run into him and fight him. You think I wanted to? I tried to avoid him, Dad, really I did, but…" Jack stopped. His head was starting to hurt from the pain in his arm.

"But?" The Joker waited. Jack didn't answer. His father sighed and continued, "Like I was saying, that kid should be avoided like the Plague. You have no idea how powerful his granddad is."

"You're such a hypocrite," Jack whispered to himself.

The Joker leaned in, squinting. "I'm sorry, what?"

Jack turned his head to his father. "I said, you're a hypocrite. You always tell me to stand up for myself and I have to learn to fight to survive."

"You also you need to learn how to pick your battles, kiddo, and you picked the wrong one." The Joker leaned back in his seat. "So, what did this little grease ball call you?"

Jack sighed. "It isn't just what he calls me. He talks about you and makes crude remarks about Mom."

The Joker snickered. "Oh, yeah. Like what?" Jack didn't want to say it, but his father egged him on. "Come on, Jack. What did he say? Something about my scars? You know, I've heard them all."

"I don't want to repeat it," Jack whispered.

"It's okay, Jacky. It won't hurt my feelings."

Jack swallowed an angry lump in his throat and quickly said, "He said that your scars came from sucking dick in prison."

The Joker chuckled. "Now, that's impossible...I never went to prison."

"Dad, come on!" Jack groaned, angrily.

"You didn't kick his ass because of that remark, did you?"

"It wasn't just that, Dad. It was everything he ever called you and every sexist thing he ever said about Mom." Jack tried to stop being angry because his pain was getting worse.

Finally, Harley came down with the first aid kit and set it on the table. She put some hydrogen peroxide on a cotton ball and said, "Ok, Jack. This is gonna sting a bit." She gently placed it on his scraped chin and Jack gritted his teeth as the peroxide bubbled and tingled.

The Joker walked over to the refrigerator to get some juice when he noticed blood on Jack's right sleeve. "Son, I need you to take off your shirt."

"Why, Dad?" Jack's lips were tender as Harley administered more peroxide.

"Now, Jack," was all his father told him.

Harley stepped back and held the frozen bag as Jack slowly took off his shirt. The Joker walked over to Jack's chair and knelt down to get a closer look at his arm. "Christ," he whispered and then said to Harley. "Harl, call Dr. Stein and tell him to bring a tetanus shot."

Harley's mouth dropped. "What? Why? What is it?"

"Our son has a huge nail in his arm," he calmly said. Harley quickly trotted to the sofa where her purse lay and fished out her cell phone.

The Joker asked his son, "Did you fall down while you were fighting?"

"Uh, yeah," Jack answered.

"Well, you're damn lucky this isn't in your spine because this bastard is deep." The Joker bit his lip and thought for a moment. "I'm gonna have to get it out..."

Harley shut her phone. "No way, hun. Wait until the Doc gets here. He'll take care of it."

The Joker chuckled. "Harley, you've seen me take chunks of glass out of my own feet and they healed just fine. We gotta get this nail out of him before it really gets infected. Doc will understand. He's 'old-school."

Harley sighed and finally agreed. "Okay, but...only get the nail out. Don't try to patch him up or anything."

"Aye, aye, chief," he saluted to Harley as he dug through the first aid kit. Harley quickly tied Jack's shirt to where it had a huge knot in the middle of it.

"Uh...Mom?" Jack asked, slightly nervous. "What's Dad gonna do?"

"He's gonna get the nail out of your arm, sweetie."

"What?"

"Here," Harley interrupted him. "If you feel any pain while your father works, just bite down on this." She put the knotted part of the shirt in his mouth while The Joker sat on the floor by Jack and sterilized his knife and a big pair of tweezers with a lighter.

His father cleared his throat. "Ok, Harl. I need a flashlight." Harley ran over the cabinet under the sink and came back with their green flashlight. "Thanks, babe," he whispered as she shined it on Jack's wound. It glistened a bright red in the light and she could see the head of the nail.

"It doesn't look rusted, kiddo," The Joker said with his knife between his teeth. "But it still needs to come out. You ready?" Jack was still and then finally nodded.

He felt his father open up his wound slowly with his fingers. The stinging sensation made him bite down a bit on his shirt, but it wasn't until he felt his father's knife slide between the nail and his muscle that he screamed through the knot. Harley patted his shoulder to soothe him. "Don't move, baby," she told him. "It'll be over soon." Jack stayed as still as he could as he felt the tweezers grip the nail and his father slowly pull it out.

The process seemed like it took an eternity. He moaned through the cloth of his shirt and tears started to fall from his eyes.

"Ok, Jack, almost," his father reassured him. "Just stay still..." Jack obeyed him and suddenly felt relief in his arm. "There it is!" he heard his father say. "Damn! That's a big one."

He placed it on the table and Jack wanted to vomit when he saw it. The Joker tied a clean dish towel around Jack's wound and helped him out of his chair. "Come on. Let's put you in bed so you can rest. It'll be easier for the Doc if you lie still."

Hours had passed and Jack was asleep in his room as The Joker sat in the chair at his desk. He watched his son sleep soundly and wondered how badly Maroni's grandson looked. The thought made him grin and Jack shifted onto his back and moaned as he opened his eyes.

The Joker smiled at him. "Hey there, Rocky." Jack slowly sat up and rubbed his head. He winced as he moved his wounded arm, but sat up enough to lean against the headboard. The Joker walked over and sat on the edge of the bed and patted Jack's leg.

Jack smirked lazily at him and said, "Dad?"

"Yeah, son?"

"What's the deal with girls?"

The Joker gave him a strange look and chuckled. "That's the question of the century, Jacky Boy."

Jack grinned. "No, really, Dad." He told The Joker about what had happened in the coffee shop and what one of the girls had told him.

His father gave him a sly grin. "They were flirting with you, son."

Jack looked confused. "Flirting? Why?"

The Joker laughed. "Well, Jack, that means they thought you were attractive."

Jack smiled to himself. "Really?"

"Well, you did get your good looks from me, ya know," his father said.

Jack couldn't believe what he heard. He had always felt like an outcast from everyone else. It never bothered him that much, but when it came to girls, he usually tried to steer clear of them for fear of acting awkward just talking to them.

He turned back to his father. "I met another girl in the bookstore," he told him. "And I think that she liked me, too."

The Joker raised an eyebrow. "Oh? How so?"

Jack looked down at his hands and grinned. "She said I had nice eyes."

Joker laughed and patted Jack's leg again. "Ahh, you sly one," he said proudly. "So, tell me more about this other girl? Is she cute?"

"Dad, she's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen," Jack said frankly.

"Wow. Say no more," his father replied, smiling.

Jack sat up straighter. "Her name is Lucy," he continued. "She wants to meet at the bookstore again on Wednesday afternoon. That's okay, right?"

The Joker shrugged. "What kind of dad would I be if I didn't allow my only son to go on his first date?"

Jack chuckled and blushed a bit. "Aw, come on, Dad. It isn't a date."

"Hmm. Let's see," The Joker said. "You met a pretty girl who wants to see you again and you two have arranged a time and a place to get together and talk. Sounds like a date to me..."

Wednesday afternoon arrived quickly and, before meeting Lucy, he stopped by Dr. Stein's office so that the good doctor could look at his healing arm.

"Vell, vell, Jacky Boy. Looks good. Nothing feels numb, huh?"

Jack shook his head. "No, sir. It actually feels like I never had a nail in there."

The doctor laughed. "Vell, you have a nice scar to show off now. You're good. Go on. You don't want to keep your little girlfriend waiting."

Jack's eyes widened. "How did you know, Doc?"

Dr. Stein shrugged. "Eh, you should never tell your mother that you met a girl. She won't keep it to herself for long." He smiled and waved as Jack left his office.

She was waiting in front of the bookstore with her backpack over her shoulder. She smiled and waved as he walked up. "Hey, Jack," she said. "I was thinking you had forgotten."

"Nah," he answered. "I had to stop and see the doctor. I cut my arm up real bad last week." He rolled up his sleeve and showed her the red scar on his arm.

"Whoa, cool," she said. "How'd that happen?"

He didn't want to worry her and tell her that he had gotten into a fight, so he told her, "I fell and landed on a nail. My dad had to pull it out for me so Dr. Stein could clean it."

"Wow, your dad sounds pretty cool," she said with a smile.

Jack smiled back at her. It felt good to hear someone call his father something positive for once.

She pulled her long brown hair into a ponytail and said, "I figured...that is if you want to...we could go to the coffee shop instead."

She told him about her day at school as they walked down the sidewalk. Jack didn't really know how public school was so he was listening with keen interest. He asked her about the different classes she was taking and which ones she liked.

They were soon sitting at a table outside of the coffee shop where they quietly sipped their beverages. Lucy finally broke their awkward quiet when she asked Jack, "What kind of music do you like?"

Jack licked his lips, saying, "I don't know...I guess Led Zeppelin...13th Floor Elevators. It's my mom's music."

Lucy looked confused and asked, "What's Led Zeppelin?"

Jack nearly choked on his drink. "What? You've never…? 'When the Levee Breaks?' 'Cashmere?' 'Stairway to Heaven?'"

Lucy shrugged and grinned. "Sorry, Jack. I don't listen to a lot of music. I never really did."

Jack sighed. "Wow...I've never met anyone who had never heard Led Zeppelin." He noticed that she was smiling at him.

She chuckled, "I know, I live under a rock. My mom makes me study more than anything. She wants me to do everything at school, like track, debate, the French Club. I was lucky enough to meet you after school today." She was quiet for a second and leaned in and whispered to him, "My mom doesn't even know that I'm here."

Jack grinned. "Really? What about your dad?"

Lucy shrugged and stopped smiling. "Dad works too much anyways," she said to him. "He doesn't care what I do." She sipped her cappuccino. "What about your parents, Jack? What do they do?"

Jack paused, bewildered. However, he tried to improvise quickly, so she wouldn't get suspicious. "Well...uh, my mom doesn't work anymore. She used to work with my dad, who does odd jobs around town. I guess you could say he's a…entrepreneur."

Lucy nodded. "Sounds cool. So, they had kind of a 'Mom and Pop' business going?"

Jack nodded and answered, "Yeah…you could call it that."

After a couple of hours, Lucy said that she had to get home. "Sorry, but, as my mom says 'That test won't pass by itself.'" She rolled her eyes and Jack grinned as he walked her to the corner of the street. She turned to him. "Um, thanks for meeting me today. I had a nice time."

Jack gave her a big smile and Lucy suddenly got on her tip-toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Jack's eyes widened and a broad grin swept across his face. Lucy started to blush. "Uh…bye, Jack!" she said as she ran home.

Later that night, The Joker came in to see his son lying on the sofa, a book on his chest and his eyes staring up at the ceiling with a grin on his face. His father chuckled. "She kissed you, didn't she?"

Jack shot up and asked, "How did you…?"

"Because your mom had that same stupid grin when I first kissed her," he said, smiling proudly.


	13. Chapter 13

**The next chapter update will be in two weeks. I'm going on a little getaway with the hubby. Thanks for everyone reading and adding to your favorites. However, please don't hesitate to review! They're very helpful! Enjoy! XD**

Several nights later, The Joker awoke to noise downstairs in the den and sat up in bed quietly as he looked around. Harley's spot was empty beside him and he grabbed his gun from under the bed and carefully left the bedroom, not bothering with his robe.

He saw that the television was on showing a blue screen and Harley was sitting in front of it on the floor, sifting through videotapes. He smirked as he sighed and plopped onto the sofa, startling her by loudly setting his revolver on the coffee table.

She gasped loudly as she looked at him. "Oh, shit! You scared me, Mistah J.."

"What are you doing?" he asked, groggily as he rubbed still-painted face.

"I just...wanted to watch some videos..." she said, quietly. She put in a video and pressed the 'play' button on the VCR.

The Joker lazily smiled when a familiar face appeared on the screen and Harley joined him on the sofa.

_It was Harley sitting at her vanity wearing her red and black bodysuit with her hair in pig-tails. She was painting her face with white make-up as The Joker was sneaking up behind her, filming her. His voice echoed through the television speakers, "Hey there, sexy." _

_Harley turned and giggled. "Puddin! Don't! I'm still getting ready." The Joker came closer to the vanity and knelt down beside her. They were silent as she put on her makeup and then she got up and walked over to her nightstand where her mask was. As she was putting it on her face, The Joker zoomed in on her bottom. "I know what you're doing, Mistah J," she said, giggling. _

The Joker placed his arm around Harley's waist as she snuggled next to him, grinning to herself.

_He stood up and the camera focused on her face. "I can't help it," he said. "Your ass looks great in that outfit." _

_She smirked at him and straightened her cowl. She put her hands on her hips and asked, "How do I look, Puddin?" _

_The Joker scanned her body with the camera and then said, "Fan-fucking-tastic, baby."_

"Been a while since I've seen that suit," he muttered to her. He felt her nod in agreement as the next clip played.

_Their two week old son was being cradled in her arms and she was smiling brightly as she kissed Baby Jack's tiny head. _

"Holy shit," The Joker whispered to her. "Can you believe that was fourteen years ago?"

"Don't say that..." she moaned. "I sometimes miss when Jack was a baby...he was so cute." She giggled as she looked up at him. "Let's have another one."

"Hell no!" he said, shaking his head.

"_You wanna hold him a while, Pud?" The Joker sighed behind the camcorder and said, "Hmmm. Okay." He put down the camera and Harley gave him Jack, and she cooed as she focused the camera on them, "My boys." _

_The Joker looked into the camera and said, "Why does his head smell good? How does he do it?" _

_Harley laughed loudly. "I dunno," she replied. "It's just a baby smell." The Joker smiled at her and Jack looked up at his father. He looked back and said, "What?" They chuckled as Jack let out a loud squeal._

"Why are you watching these?" The Joker asked, leaning forward as he scratched his shoulder.

Harley shrugged. "I don't know...couldn't sleep..."

"Well, I could," he said, standing up as he turned off the television with the remote. "Come on..."

She sighed and hesitantly followed him up the stairs, but diverted from their door to Jack's, whose door was curiously ajar. She cautiously knocked and peeked inside his room. "Jack?" she whispered.

All she saw was an empty bed, the sheets disheveled and a few choice books on the floor. "Honey?" she said, louder this time as she stepped further into her son's room.

The Joker caught the concern in her voice and joined her side. "Jack?" he called out as he went into the bathroom.

"You don't think he went to a movie, did ya?" Harley asked. "At the theater down the street?"

"Not without telling us..." he told her, stomping to their room to put on his robe. "Stay inside; I'll call him..." he said as he trotted down the stairs and out the front door.

As The Joker stepped further into the lot, he heard distant rustling that seemed to be coming from Jack's old play-fort. The Joker crept around and heard heavy breathing and light moaning, and slowly peered inside one of the windows.

"Whoa!" he shouted as he stood up and covered his eyes. "Okay! Out! Both of you!"

Jack came out with his shirt over his shoulder as he buckled his pants. Lucy climbed out after him straightening her shirt and fixing her hair, her eyes widening as she spied who caught them.

She gasped loudly and was about to scream until Jack hollered, embarrassed. "Dad!"

Lucy looked over at Jack and screamed, "_Dad? _Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Lucy, wait! I can explain..." Jack said as he struggled with his shirt.

"Explain?" she said through tears. "The Joker is your dad? Oh my God!"

"Hello?" The Joker interrupted. "Angry father here!" The kids paused and stared at him, Lucy's surprised and hurt tears streaming down her cheeks and Jack trying to catch his breath.

The Joker suddenly turned toward the house. "Both of you! Come here!"

The kids trotted nervously behind him as he shouted, "Clapton!" His driver quickly shot out of the front seat of the car and looked at his boss as he turned to Lucy.

The Joker roughly grabbed her upper arms and stared darkly into her eyes. "You...have no idea where we live," he growled at her as she sobbed. "No fucking clue..._you understand_?"

Lucy couldn't speak, but just nodded her head, slowly panicking. Jack came over to her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Lucy...I'll call you-"

"Boy!" The Joker shouted at his son. "Get inside...now!"

Jack could feel his father's angry eyes pierce into him as he took one last look at Lucy's sorrowful face, and he pivoted and ran inside the theater as he heard The Joker tell Clapton, "Take her home...you tell no one where you've been, little girl..."

"Yes, sir!" she sobbed as she got into the car and hid her face in her jacket.

As Clapton pulled out of the lot, The Joker slammed the front door behind him and faced his son, who glared at him, angrily. "Why did you do that?" Jack exclaimed.

His father's eyes widened with surprise. "Why did _I_ do _that_? Why did _you_ bring her here?"

"You said you were okay with me and Lucy-"

"I'm okay with you going out on a date!" The Joker said, furiously. "Not bringing your little girlfriend to our home...our home that the entire city of Gotham doesn't know exists! It's been that way since before you were born and we'd like to keep it that way!"

Jack groaned and rolled his eyes. "She's not gonna say anything, Dad..."

"Did you see her face, son? We're lucky she didn't run straight to a police station. Who's to say she isn't going to when Clapton drops her off?" He stared irately at Jack for a moment and sighed as he turned away from him.

Jack let his eyes fall to the floor, ashamedly, and said, "Dad...I'll talk to her...but I know she's not gonna tell anybody."

The Joker spun around to him again, his brow furrowed. "You didn't even tell her who you really were, Jack...you've already lied to her, so what makes you think that she's gonna keep a secret for you?"

Jack sighed as he bit his lip and he heard his mother carefully walk down the stairs, saying, "Puddin'? What's going on?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose, saying, "I just caught our son...goin' hot and heavy with his little girlfriend..."

Harley gasped. "Jack! You were making out? You're fourteen!"

"Harley!" The Joker shouted at her. "He brought somebody here! Do you know the risk of this?"

"Honey, calm down..." Harley said, soothingly, but then turned to her son with her fists on her hips. "Why the hell would you do that, Jack Quinn? What was going through your mind?" Jack grinned slyly and looked away. "Besides _that_, young man!"

Jack put his hands in his pockets, frustrated. "I'm sorry! We couldn't go to her house and would you rather we were hanging out in a dark alley in the middle of the night?"

"Yes!" The Joker shouted. "There's one right next door!"

"Were you using protection, mister?" his mother asked.

"Mom!"

"Harley! Forget that they were making out, okay?" The Joker demanded as he paced in front of them.

"Dad, come on, I promise you...I'll handle everything..."

"Like hell you will! _I'm_ taking care of this..." his father belted. "_You're_ grounded!"

"What!" Jack said in disbelief. "How can I talk to Lucy if you're gonna ground me?"

The Joker paused in his steps and slowly approached him, his brow still set in anger. "I said..." he growled. "I'll...take care of this..."

Jack's eyes widened and he backed up as he sneered. "Dad...you wouldn't..."

"Son..." his father stepped forward. "You put your family at a _huge_ disadvantage tonight..."

"Puddin'," Harley said, quietly. "Stop it..."

"Stay out of this!" he shouted, turning his neck sharply to her.

"Dad, please! Let me go see her...she'll listen to me..."

"You've done enough," his father snarled. "Now go to bed!"

Jack looked at him and then at his mother's concerned face, and he sighed as he turned and ran up the stairs, slamming his door violently behind him.

"Mistah J?" Harley said, meekly. "I know what you're thinking...if you do it...he'll never speak to you again..."

The Joker locked eyes with her and she noticed that, perhaps because of his son's slammed bedroom door, that the anger in his gaze was steadily becoming composed. "I'm going to bed..." he muttered as he slowly walked to the stairs.

Harley didn't say anything or follow him, but just watched as he stepped to their bedroom door and go through it, shutting it quietly behind him.

The nervous lump in her throat made her linger another hour before joining him.

Jack awoke late in the morning, but stayed in his bed staring at the ceiling. The sun had risen over the Gotham skyline and he closed his eyes as he thought of what had happened the previous night.

"Dad wouldn't really kill her...would he?" he whispered to himself. He shook his head briskly to shake the thought from his mind, and he sighed as he rose out of bed and went into the bathroom to wash his face with cold water.

Minutes later, he lazily walked downstairs and he found his parents sitting at the kitchen table, Harley sitting close to The Joker as they were mumbling to each other. Jack sneered as he approached them and they ceased their talking as they looked at him.

The Joker cleared his throat and motioned for Jack to join them in the chair on the other side of the table. He leaned forward and said, "Jack…I think it's time we had a talk."

Jack plopped in the chair and folded his hands in front of him as he lowered his eyes. "About Lucy?"

"Well...sort of..." his father said. There was a small pause and Jack heard his mother shift uncomfortably in her chair as The Joker continued, "Jack, are you having sex?"

Jack's surprised expression was raised to his parents. "What! No, Dad!" He kept sneering at them and then rolled his eyes as he realized the issue that was to be discussed. "You want to talk to me about sex? I can't believe this!"

"We just need to know how far you two have gotten," Harley interjected. "According to what your dad saw, you're quite knowledgeable about-"

Jack suddenly stood, making his chair fall to the floor. "After all that talk last night about me putting our home in danger and how you insinuated that you're gonna have my girlfriend killed...you wanna talk to me about the fucking birds and the bees?"

The Joker abruptly stood as well, saying, "I never said I was gonna kill her, Jack! I said I would take care of it..."

"I'm not stupid, Dad!" Jack shouted out at him. "I've seen what you do when you 'take care' of people!"

There was a tense moment of silence until The Joker demanded, in a low voice, "Sit down..."

"Fuck you!"

All he took was two steps away from the table before he let out a painful cry as he suddenly lost his footing and felt his right arm be pulled behind his back, his father's shoe between his shoulders.

"Puddin'!" Harley screamed. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Let go of me!" Jack shouted, but cried out in pain again as The Joker tugged his arm.

"You think you're so fucking smart, boy?" his father bellowed down at him. "You think your smart-ass words and pussy-footin' around is gonna get you what you want?"

The Joker's heart throbbed in slight despair as he looked down at his son's now red face, but he continued as he pulled Jack's arm again, making him scream in pain. "You're damn lucky I'm your father or else I would just use a simple twist and-"

"Mistah J, stop it!" Harley shrieked as her panicked tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Harley, go upstairs!" He looked at her as she gave him a horrified expression. "Now!" She took another look at their son before rushing upstairs to their bedroom, slamming the door and hiding her face in her pillow as she sobbed.

He held Jack's arm for another beat and then calmly said, "Now...you're gonna pick up your chair...you're gonna sit down...and then we're gonna talk...man to man..._right_?"

Jack was taking deep breaths as his arm began to grow numb, but he slowly nodded his head and soon felt relief as The Joker released him.

As Jack fixed his chair and took a seat in front of The Joker, he tried to hold back the tears of humiliation as his father licked his lips, saying, "I did a lot of thinking last night, kiddo..." he muttered as he looked at his son. "You have to let Lucy go...it's for the best..."

"What do you mean by that?" Jack asked. "'Let her go', I mean..."

The Joker sighed. "Even though...it's an even bigger risk...I'll let you go and talk to her...but it has to be today...and it has to be the last time you speak to her..."

Jack closed his eyes tightly and shook his head. "I love her..."

His father rolled his eyes. "No, you don't..."

"I do..."

"Son...you may care for her...but you don't love her. You're fourteen; you don't know what you want."

"How can you say that?" Jack choked through small tears.

"Because I was your age, too, you know? I know that it's..." He paused as he watched his son try not to break down at the miserable truth. "I told you, son, that...being our child was not gonna be easy..."

"So, I can't even have a girlfriend?" Jack asked, not trying to hide his sadness any longer. "I can't have friends?"

"I never said that...but you've put us at risk right now...you should know that you are not a normal kid...you know that you don't have a normal life..."

Jack quietly sobbed as he placed his arms on the table and hid his face. The Joker moved his chair closer to him and gently put his hand on his shoulder. "Hey, come on; buck up...it'll be okay. This'll be good for her...you, too..."

"No, it won't..." came his son's dreary, muffled voice from his folded arms.

"Son, did you really think that you could involve her in our lifestyle?"

Jack sniffed. "She would've understood..."

"How can you know that?" The Joker asked. "Do you not remember how terrified she was last night?" When he didn't get an answer, he whispered, "If you really care for her...you'll protect her by leaving her behind...promise me..."

Jack raised his head and wiped his eyes as he turned to his father, whose face was freshly painted. He thought about the preceding events that led to this moment, from the first time he saw his father shoot a gun to the pain in his arm as his father had held him down.

He took a deep breath and said, "Mom was just like Lucy, wasn't she? Why didn't you leave _her _behind?"

At that moment, The Joker noticed that Harley had come out of the bedroom and was listening to their conversation. He looked back at Jack and replied, "Because I _knew_ what I wanted...and when _you _finally know...you'll take it and never look back..."

Harley grinned as she listened as Jack asked, "How did you do that?"

The Joker blinked at him. "Do what?"

"Trap me like you did? When you almost broke my arm..."

His father chuckled. "I wasn't going to..."

"Teach me..." Jack insisted.

The Joker's heart started to pound as a proud smile stretched across his painted lips and his heart beat faster when a similar smile branched across his son's face, as well.


	14. Chapter 14

Early the next morning, Jack had traveled his way across Gotham City to a nice, quiet suburb where Lucy and her parents called home. He walked slowly, his hands in his pockets and his eyes on his green Converse sneakers as the sun slowly peeked over the pristine, tiled roofs of the houses.

He didn't know where he would even begin to explain himself to her. They had been seeing each other for almost three weeks and had grown close, but after his true identity was discovered the night before and his abnormal life revealed, he had a sick feeling in his stomach that stemmed from the dread that was clouding his mind.

Jack absentmindedly scratched the back of his neck as he climbed up the steps that led to Lucy's front porch, and he took a deep breath as he rang the doorbell.

There seemed to be a hesitant moment on the other side of the door as an older woman carefully cracked it a bit and then, upon seeing Lucy's boyfriend, threw it open. Jack could see that Lucy's mother hadn't had a peaceful night's rest.

Oh, shit, he thought to himself. She knows.

"Jack! Oh, God..." she started to sob as she leaned against the door frame.

"Mrs. Thompson?" he asked as he carefully inched to her. "What's...what's wrong?"

"It's Lucy..." she choked. "She-she didn't come home last night..."

Jack's heart began to pound in his throat as he watched the distraught mother desperately grip at the doorknob as she covered her face with a tissue. "Are you...sure?" he asked, nervously.

"Yes, I'm sure!" she screamed, offended. "She's not in her bed and I've called all her friends...have you seen her, Jack? Oh, God...I'm so scared..."

"Well, I...saw her yesterday...at the bookstore..." He only told half the truth, not really wanting to reveal that she had stayed out past her curfew and had gotten caught by his father.

"Please..." she begged. "If you know where she is..."

"Mrs. Thompson, I swear...I...I haven't seen her since the bookstore..."

She sniffed loudly and placed a hand on his wrist and squeezed. "If she comes to you...please tell her to come home...please..." Her voice choked as she put her tissue to her face again.

Jack nodded as he turned and trotted down the stairs. "I will, ma'am...I definitely will..."

He couldn't explain why his heart pounded in anger as he now sprinted back home, his brow furrowed as he pumped his arms angrily.

Townshend was watching Clapton try to unbolt the car battery from its compartment and he shook his head as he watched the driver turn the crescent wrench the wrong way. "No, no, no, man," he said. "It's 'righty-tighty, lefty-loosey...'"

"I know, Towser!" Clapton rebutted. "I know what I'm doin'...Jesus..."

Townshend shook his head again as he turned to see the source of the hurried footsteps that had come into the lot. "Hey, Jacky! Why you in a-"

Instead of an answer, he saw the teenager suddenly grab Clapton by his shirt collar and violently push him against the side of the car. "Hey, ya little bastard! What gives?" Clapton cursed as the boy sneered in his face.

"What did you do to her!" he yelled.

"To who?"

"Lucy! After you drove her from here, what did you do to her?"

Clapton freed himself from the boy's grip and dusted off his lapels. "I dropped her off at a bus stop, Jacky. She didn't want to be in the car anymore; she begged me to drop her off there. I guess she was scared I was gonna-"

"Don't you fuckin' lie for my dad, Clapton!" Jack warned. "Lucy didn't go home last night!"

"Well, I can hardly help that, Jacky Boy!" Clapton shouted at him. "I didn't do nothin' to her except leave her at a bus stop downtown..." There was a bitter silence as the men watched Jack put his sweaty face in his hands. "Gimme some slack, kid. I wouldn't hurt a little girl...geez..."

Jack sighed and looked at the still startled men. "Sorry, man..." he muttered as he walked inside to see his mother straddling The Joker on the couch as the morning news played on the television.

His ears burned as he watched his father smile as Harley kissed his neck and gripped his suspenders. He sniffed as he softy walked over to them as he heard them whispering to one another.

"Mmm," The Joker moaned. "That's good, baby...Daddy's gotta go..."

"Aww, Pud," Harley pouted. "Just a few more..." She brought her lips to his and he let them graze across his.

He chuckled, but his eyes darted toward their interruption, and he gently pushed Harley away from him and she sheepishly wiped her lips. "Hey, kiddo..." he said as he stood up and adjusted the buttons of his shirt. "So...how'd it go?"

Jack took a deep breath and replied, "You tell _me_, Dad."

The Joker raised a confused eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Where is she?" Jack barked.

His father looked at Harley as if she could comprehend what their son was asking. "What?"

"Lucy...never made it home last night..." Jack growled. "Clapton said...he left her at a bus stop...and then he came back here..."

The Joker stepped toward him and shrugged. "Well, I can hardly help where she went after that, Jacky..."

He was taken aback as his son suddenly sent a fist to his father's jaw, thankfully missing. "Jack!" Harley screamed.

The Joker snarled as he put a hand around Jack's throat and pushed him toward the sofa, where he plopped onto the hard cushions. "I know what you're thinking, son!" his father shouted at him as Harley watched them. "If Lucy's missing, then she's missing! I had nothing to do with that! Hell, who's to say that she doesn't have another boy-toy somewhere else?"

"Go fuck yourself..." Jack mumbled, but a gloved hand soon left a sharp sting on his cheek.

"Watch your tongue with me, boy..." The Joker calmly told him as he saw tears well in his son's eyes. The look made his own eyes start to sting, but he controlled this moment of weakness and licked his lips, saying, "Now, how do you know she's missing?"

"Her mom told me..." Jack said, rubbing his hands between his knees as Harley put a hand on his shoulder. "She looked...so bad...scared..." He hanged his head as The Joker stepped closer to him and knelt in front of him.

"Kiddo..." he sighed. "I know what you're thinking...and I told you...that that wasn't going to happen. You trust me, right?"

Jack raised his eyes to his father and their gazes locked. He licked his lips and nodded as he looked at his shoes again. The Joker patted his shoulder and stood up, walking to the kitchen chair where his purple coat draped.

"Why don't you go help look, honey," Harley suggested but The Joker loudly shoved the chair under the table.

"What if she went to the cops, Harl?" The Joker asked sternly.

"Dad, if that were true, then they'd be here already..." Jack said quietly.

His father took a deep breath and nodded in agreement. "True...well, you could do that, son, if you feel like it. I'd say to keep your eyes on the newspapers instead. I wouldn't want you to..." He paused and slightly grimaced, and then said, "I wouldn't want you to find her yourself..."

Jack's head jerked up and he stood, angrily glaring at him. "Why?" he choked.

"Because, Jack...this is Gotham...not even the girth of this city is enough to protect a lost fourteen-year-old girl."

**Three days later**

Light sleep had fallen over Jack every night since he'd discovered about Lucy's disappearance, and tonight he decided to leave the solace of his bedroom to venture to the darkness of their den.

He stepped quietly down the stairs so as not to wake his mother, and he looked at the clock on their microwave and saw that it was nearly four in the morning. The Joker would be home soon; he always was in the early morning hours. Jack plopped onto the sofa after turning on the television, automatically putting on the news.

As he reclined into the cushions and shut his eyes as the glow of the TV grew brighter, a familiar name resounded from the newscaster's lips that brought Jack out of his daze.

_"...the body of Lucy Thompson was found earlier this evening in a thicket of a neighborhood cul-de-sac, just two streets over from her own home. She appeared to have suffered massive blows to the head, twenty stab wounds to the chest and stomach areas, and she was stripped of her clothing. It is still unclear on whether or not the young teen had been raped..."_

Jack could have sworn that his heart had stopped beating momentarily and the words of the newscaster were suddenly deaf ones upon his ears as he stared at Lucy's school picture that was plastered on the television screen next to blurred photos of her shattered, lifeless body.

He finally succumbed to the breath that was being held in his tightened throat and his moaning sigh sent a pain through the rest of his body as he felt his heart pound in his chest. He carefully stood, turned to the door, and began to slowly walk to it.

Upon hearing the television, Harley had come downstairs in her red robe and watched as Jack walked out the door and into the lot. "Jack?" she called to him. She turned her head to the TV and saw the missing girl's name in bright yellow, and Harley's mouth dropped as tears started to burn her eyes. She suddenly turned away and trotted after her son. "Jack!"

He could hear his mother's voice calling to him, but he didn't stop until he reached the middle of the lot and looked out at the full moon as it was slowly settling lower in the sky. It was a burning orange over the city and he suddenly wondered if Lucy had gazed at the same moon just hours ago as she died.

Jack clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as a guttural moan emitted from his throat. He instantly dropped to his knees as an anguished scream pierced through his throat and into the cold night air.

Clapton easily pulled into the lot as per the nightly routine as The Joker sat in the backseat behind him, his tired eyes trying to stay open. It wasn't until he heard his driver mutter a confused expletive that he lifted his head to see his son's crumpled body.

Without waiting for Clapton to park, The Joker instantly threw open the car door and ran to his side. "Jacky?" he asked, nervously. "Come on, kiddo. What's wrong?" When he didn't receive an answer, he turned to Harley, who was crying with their son as she held on to his shaking shoulders. "Harley..."

She sniffed and looked up at him. "They...they found Lucy..."

Jack wailed as he sank his cheek into his mother's warm chest and she shushed him through tears of her own. "Shh, honey..." she whispered. She looked at The Joker again and choked, "It's bad, Puddin'...real bad..."

The Joker bit his lip and sighed as he knelt in front of his son as Harley continued to talk to him, "Let it out, baby boy."

After a few minutes, Jack's sobs started to subside and he felt weak from his screaming. He pulled away from his mother and stared blankly in front of him. "Jack?" The Joker whispered. "Jack Quinn?" He waved his hand in front of Jack's eyes and upon hearing Harley's gasp, he said, "It's okay...he's in shock...let's get him inside."

Jack was shaken from his trance, however, as he felt his father lift him off the ground, and he pushed him away as he walked ahead of them, an empty expression on his face as he went inside.

The Joker and Harley followed him upstairs where he instantly put himself in bed and Harley took off his shoes and socks as The Joker closed the blinds on his window. He knelt down and whispered to Jack, "Do I need to stay in here with you, son?" Jack knew what he meant, and even if he wanted to hurt himself, he was too weak.

Jack shook his head and closed his eyes as his mother turned off the light and The Joker closed the door to where it was slightly ajar.

They went downstairs and the five o clock news was just starting and the top story was replaying. Harley started to cry and The Joker put his arm around her. "I can't believe it," she whispered to him.

They watched the news until Harley fell asleep on The Joker's lap, and he carried her upstairs to the bedroom where he lay her down gently on the satin sheet. He walked over to the window and peered into the darkness, knowing that those words and photos from the news were replaying in his son's head, as well.

Jack didn't come out of his room for most of the next day, and Harley wanted more than anything to go upstairs and check on him, but The Joker stopped her. "Just let him be alone right now, darlin'," he told her. "If he wants to talk, he'll find us."

It wasn't until later that evening that hunger drove Jack out of his room, and he found his mother cooking a big spaghetti dinner. She would occasionally cook something special for The Joker and his men when they came back from a big job, but she also knew that Jack loved her spaghetti and homemade sauce and she wanted to use that to her advantage to coax him from his room.

"Hi, honey," she said softly to him as he sat at the kitchen table. "You hungry?"

"Starving," Jack muttered as he traced a groove in the table with his finger. She made a big plate for him with extra cheese on top and hot, buttered garlic bread and gave him an ice cold soda. He ate up his dinner eagerly and the hot noodles and sauce soothed his empty stomach. Pretty soon, he got up for a second plate and as he poured more cheese on top, he heard a voice behind him say, "Did you leave any for us?"

Jack turned and saw his father smiling at him. "Hey, kiddo," The Joker said to him.

"Hey," replied Jack, not returning his smile and not looking at him. He sat back down at the table as the rest of the men helped themselves to dinner while The Joker leaned against the counter by Harley. Minutes later, Clapton announced, "Mamma mia, Harl. This is great." The other guys agreed with full mouths as Harley laughed.

"Thanks, guys," she said. "The sauce has an extra secret ingredient that gives it a little bit of a kick."

"It's cayenne pepper," The Joker revealed. Harley punched him in the arm. "Hey, it obviously wasn't that much of a secret."

Jack let a small smile escape his lips as the others laughed. He was starting to get full so he stopped and listened as Angus, Townshend and Harrison talked about the job.

"You hungry, Pud?" Harley asked The Joker as they watched their son.

"Nah," he said. "I'll eat later…." He saw Jack staring at his food with an expressionless face. "When did he come down?" he asked Harley.

Harley shrugged and said, "About half an hour ago. The poor thing was so hungry." They watched Jack as he brought his plate over and set it on the counter.

"Thanks, Mom," he mumbled. "Sorry I didn't finish it."

"It's okay, baby," she told him. "That was a pretty big second helping." He grinned and put on his jacket and went outside.

The Joker sighed as he followed him "I'm gonna go talk to him."

"What was all that talk about leaving him alone?" Harley called after him, smirking.

"Ok, so I'm a hypocrite," he answered as he opened the front door and walked out.

"Jack?" he called out as he walked out into lot and near the old shed. Instead of receiving a verbal answer, a bottle landed and shattered in front of his feet. "What the..." Before he could find the source of the projectile, Jack stepped around the shed and faced his father. "What the hell, son?" The Joker asked him angrily.

They stared at each other in silence until Jack stomped closer and let a fist fly toward The Joker's face. He was caught in the jaw and he stumbled back, but kept his footing. He looked up at his son as he rubbed his chin and Jack lunged at him, but The Joker was ready this time, catching him by the arm and kicking his feet off the ground.

Jack fell to his knees as his father stepped away. "Really, Jack?" he asked him with a look of surprise.

His son stood up and dusted off his jeans as he began to step closer. The Joker rolled his eyes and took off his coat, tossing it impatiently onto the ground. He raised his fists and looked at Jack, saying, "Come on, boy. Do it again!"

Jack roared and threw another fist, but The Joker quickly stepped aside and shoved Jack backwards onto the ground. "Stop that!" he shouted.

The Joker chuckled. "You're a bit too old to being throwing tantrums..."

Jack jumped up and let another fist fly at his father, but The Joker grabbed his arm and twisted it around behind his back. Jack groaned loudly in pain and tried to fight him off, but every time he moved, The Joker held on tighter and his arm grew numb from the pain. "Hey...you ever get that deja vu kinda feeling?" his father quipped.

"Let…me…go," Jack yelled at him, annoyed at his sarcasm.

"Are you gonna settle down and talk to me?"

Jack hesitated and The Joker squeezed his elbow. "Ow! Yes! Yes! Okay!"

The Joker let go of his arm and Jack cradled it and rubbed his shoulder. He slowly got up as The Joker put on his coat but then ran over to his father to strike him in the back. The Joker quickly turned and caught him and slammed him onto the ground, knocking the breath out of him.

He stood over him, saying, "That's how pussies fight, Jack," The Joker told him with annoyance in his voice. He waited for Jack to calm down and then he offered him his hand. "Truce?" Jack nodded and let his father help lift him up. He dusted himself off as The Joker buttoned his coat. "Now," he said as Jack leaned against the shed. "Like I was saying…what the hell?"

"I should ask you the same thing," Jack raised his voice to him. "Why didn't you fight back?"

The Joker's eyes widened. "Jack...you're my kid. I don't wanna fight you..."

"And you call _me_ a pussy," Jack retorted.

His father pointed a scolding finger at him. "You've got a smart lip on you, son. I know you're pissed off at me for some unknown reason-"

"You fucking did it, didn't you?" Jack yelled.

"Jack! You're gonna end up saying something you're gonna regret..."

"I regret shit! I hate you!"

The Joker's breath stopped itself in his throat, but he didn't change his expression. Jack's expression, however, was one of shock. He couldn't believe he just told his father, the one person he was ever really close to, that he despised him.

The Joker sighed and stepped closer to his son. "It's okay, Jack," his father interrupted his trance. "Go ahead. Blame me. That's what parents are for, right? To take the blame to make their kids feel better?" Jack averted his gaze as his father turned around and walked back toward the theatre, dusting himself off from their brawl.

Jack stood there and watched as his father walked inside the theatre and a sudden nausea came over him. He ran to the back of the lot and jumped over the wooden fence and vomited, his entire dinner making a steaming pile in the tall grass as he began to sob.

What was happening to him? Why was his life suddenly being turned upside down? He had so many questions but now he had no one to ask them to, and he felt stupid for treating his father like he did. He was so confused. If his father had indeed kept his promise not to harm Lucy, then who was the one that hurt her? And why?

Why couldn't he deal with death the way his father did? He seemed to be able to keep it all inside; why couldn't _he_? It didn't seem fair.

He wiped his lips with his coat sleeve and slowly walked back inside the theater where he found his father at the kitchen table, alone and eating his dinner. Not wanting to disturb him, Jack started toward the stairs.

"Jack..." The Joker's voice was set in a low tone and Jack turned to look at him. "Sit down."

Jack slowly walked over and sat by him. After a few minutes, The Joker pushed his plate aside and finished his glass of water. He looked at Jack and asked him, "Do you remember when you and Mom visited me in Arkham?"

Jack creased his brow in confusion and thought for a moment, but The Joker cleared his throat and said, "You were only four-years-old. Gordon agreed to let your mom bring you over to see me on the condition that she didn't try to spring me out. I was a bit surprised when he told me that you two were coming. I didn't ever want you to be near that place. But when I saw you run up to me as I sat in that room with my hands cuffed…"

He paused and smiled as Jack asked, "Wait...so, Gordon knows I exist? I thought that you and Mom didn't want to-"

"Only a few people do, Jack," The Joker explained. "Gordon, surprisingly, has kept you a secret all these years. When Harley brought you to visit me, it was a very...covert operation...very late at night...in the boiler room...with just him and...I'm sure The Batman was close at hand should I try anything..."

"Batman knows, too?" Jack asked with wide eyes.

"Batman, Gordon...even some of our fellow Rogues: of course, Ivy knows...she was here the night you were born...Two-Face, Croc, Penguin...you're a very well-kept secret, Jacky..."

"I'm surprised the secret of me hasn't been bought and sold..."

The Joker chuckled. "They know the consequence should that ever happen..." He took a breath and leaned forward, placing his folded hands on the table. "Anyway, you jumped right into my lap and gave me the biggest hug any four-year-old could muster. You didn't know why I was there; you just knew that I couldn't come home. Ha. I had only been in Arkham for a few weeks but when I held you in my arms that day…" He stopped again and looked down at the floor.

Jack watched his father as his told his story and he tried very hard to remember, but nothing came to mind.

"Your mother came in behind you and I immediately stood up and kissed her. I didn't wanna stop kissing her. I had never realized that I could miss someone so much…and then I had a family…and I wasn't at home." Jack could see that The Joker was trying to keep his composure as he continued. "You had given me a drawing of a dragon you had colored. They were your favorite at the time …well, them and dinosaurs." He smiled at Jack.

"I had only fifteen minutes with you two and it was the shortest fifteen minutes in the world. When Gordon came in to show you guys out…you started crying...and I wanted to die. I never wanted you near that place but yet I didn't want to let you off my lap. I gave you one more hug and your mom one more kiss." He paused and swallowed hard. "On your way out the door, you looked right into Gordon's face and asked him, 'Why won't you let my daddy come home?' Well, Gordon's face turned white. With all his hatred for me, I think that after he met you, he felt a little guilty. It felt good to hear my own son challenge the Commissioner of Police, but when I got back to my room, I sat in a corner, looked at your drawing and…" He sighed as his eyes met his son's.

Jack tried to hold back tears of remorse. He realized that when he was younger he couldn't comprehend the hell his father went through while he was at Arkham. All he had in his padded cell was his son's unsophisticated drawing of an imaginary creature.

There was something else, though. Something Jack finally remembered.

"You told me something that day, didn't you?" Jack asked him. "You said that no matter what, you would always come back home. I remember it kind of confused and scared me because I took it to mean that…I would probably grow up without you."

The Joker moved his chair closer to his son and whispered, "I came home two days later and I haven't been locked up since. Every night I go out, I secretly make that promise to you over and over."

Jack stood up and hid his face from his father, ashamed that he had been crying so much, but mostly ashamed at what he had told The Joker earlier. He finally choked out, "I'm sorry I said I hated you, Dad. I didn't mean it." The Joker put his arm around him as Jack continued, "It's just…Lucy…" He started to sob again, but whimpered, "It's not your fault what happened to Lucy...I was just angry."

They were quiet while The Joker kept his arm around him until he asked him, "You know how I can tell that I'm getting old and sentimental?" Jack shrugged and his father reached into his coat and pulled something out from his left inside breast pocket. He slowly opened it up and showed it to Jack and he smiled at the crudely drawn orange dragon on the aged piece of white construction paper.

Jack suddenly sniffed and held out his hand to his father. "Are we good, Dad?"

The Joker smiled. "Yeah, kiddo. We're good."

He took his son's hand and shook it, but then pulled Jack to him and hugged him tightly.


	15. Chapter 15

**Just returned from vacation...wrote this on plane ride home...not much in this...or is there? Plot development! **

Jack stepped down the stairs, wearing black gym shorts and a green sleeveless shirt as he joined The Joker's men at the kitchen table. He nodded a greeting to them as he sat in a chair and pulled on his new tennis shoes. "Where you off to, Jacky?" Townshend asked.

He smiled as he tied the laces. "Gonna join the guys for a run...then, I gotta train."

"Oh, yeah," Angus said as he watched Jack. "You got a match tomorrow night...one of Pengy's pigeons."

Jack chuckled. His father had made a call three years ago to his friend, Killer Croc, who owned an underground gym and private boxing ring, and Jack had not only been training in using his aggression to his advantage, he had become quite the fighter. He had been going three times a week and had made friends with a couple of the other teenagers that were training there as well.

This would be the third match for him against an advanced opponent, but this was his first to have a fellow rogue challenge him with a young boxer of his own. The Penguin had never had very close ties with The Joker, but upon hearing that the clown's own brood had been fierce in two previous matches, the old bird couldn't help but to see what Jack could do.

"I hear this guy's kinda big, Jacky," Angus told him after taking a big gulp of soda.

"Big ain't nothin' to me, Gus," Jack grinned. "Big can't beat quick..."

After tightening his laces, he stood and stretched his arms over his head. "Tell Mom and Dad I'll be back later tonight..." He trotted out the door, not waiting for a response as he made his way to Gotham Central Park.

As he rounded a bus stop that led across the street and onto a concrete jogging path, Jack could hear the customary cat-calls of his two friends as they stretched at a nearby bench.

"Ooh-wee," a stocky, red-haired teen howled at a passing brunette in a canary-yellow sundress. "Hey, baby...you look lost. Lemme take you home..." He let out a deep chuckle as the girl turned and sneered at him.

"Does your mother know that you're out, creep?" she asked, annoyed.

"Oh, damn, Brian!" a tall, lanky black kid bellowed. "This ain't your day, man!"

"Aw, she's just playin' hard to get, Ronnie," he told him.

Jack smirked as he came closer to them. "She was just trying to get clear of those craters on your face before they swallowed her whole."

His friends both threw their heads back and laughed. Ronnie cracked his knuckles, saying, "Brian only wishes she could swallow..."

As he said that, two girls around their age walked by with shocked, yet amused looks on their faces. Ronnie turned and covered his mouth to laugh off his embarrassment as Jack raised his eyes to the young blonde girl and she smiled coyly at him as she waved.

Brian watched Jack wave back at her, biting his lip. He did one final calf stretch before saying, "What is it with you and blondes, Jay?"

Jack chuckled as he popped his neck. "Runs in the family, I guess..."

Around mile two of their run, Ronnie asked Jack about the impending match. "How you feel about it, Jay? You ready?"

"I'm always ready," Jack panted his answer as he loped. "Dad's tellin' me I need to size the guy up...time my blows just right..."

Brian scoffed. "He ain't tellin' ya nothin' you don't already know, man..."

"I know...he and Croc go way back, though...I think he's just trying to look out for me since...Croc's been underground for the past few weeks..."

"I couldn't live in the sewer, man; fuck that..." Ronnie said. "I don't care how desperate I am to hide from the pigs..."

"You would if you were Croc and couldn't hide anywhere else..." Jack rejoined. "Seems to me...if you already stick out in a crowd...sewer'd be the perfect place..."

"Ugh..." Brian grunted. "Speakin' of sewer..."

A loud rip emitted from the teen as Jack and Ronnie bounced off the path. "Jesus Christ, Bry!" Jack shouted. "You need to see a doctor...a normal colon shouldn't sound like that..."

"No wonder you can't get laid..." Ronnie added, putting his whole hand over his nose and mouth.

"Dude..." Brian groaned. "I shouldn't have had that burrito earlier..."

They chatted as they walked to the alley way that led to the gym, passing by some girls that Brian and Ronnie knew from their school. The girls looked at them and gave them their best, flirty smiles as Jack just grinned at them while his two friends spouted terrible pick-up lines, to which he laughed hysterically.

Brian and Jack decided to get into the ring for a friendly practice round while Ronnie lifted a few weights. Jack was quick on his feet, which annoyed Brian to no end. "Hey, man!" he shouted. "This is gonna be a fight, not a dance." His remark was rejoined by a quick roundhouse to the chin and he stumbled backwards into the ropes.

Ronnie set down the barbell and laughed as he walked to the speed bag that hanged in a corner. "Ask and you shall receive..." he belted as he pummeled the bag.

Jack stopped bouncing and helped Brian steady on his feet, but his friend tried to be crafty and rush a quick punch to his gut. Jack sensed his movement, however, and he moved out of his path as Brian twirled and landed on his right knee. "You can't do that shit, Bry," Jack mumbled as he stood behind him.

Brian stood up again, saying, "I'm just makin' sure you're ready, Jay. Dunno what this guy's gonna bring at ya..."

"You ain't gotta worry about old Jack 'Spades' Quinn..." Ronnie announced proudly.

"I fuckin' hate that name," Jack sighed as he removed his mouth guard from his upper teeth.

"You gotta have that name, man!" Ronnie exclaimed. "Come on: Jack...The Joker's kid...fits you to a 'T.'"

Jack leaned against the ropes beside Brian and hanged his head as he tried to catch his breath. Sweat glistened against his forehead and he licked his lips as he looked up again and saw a short, plump man in a black blazer and pinstriped pants waddle his way into the gym.

The boys all looked in the direction of the pointed-nosed gentleman as he was being followed by a bulky goon dressed in gray and a teenaged kid that strutted close behind.

Jack took one look at the kid and knew that this was his challenger.

"Plenty of seating, as you can see..." Jack could hear the high-pitched, throaty growl of Penguin as he and his party drew closer to the ring. "Pretty shabby get-up, here; same as always...Waylon sure knows how to keep house..." he mumbled sarcastically before his eyes met Jack's.

He smiled broadly and held up his hands. "There he is!" Penguin proclaimed. "The prankster's powerful progeny...in the flesh..." He removed the monocle from his left eye as he slyly chewed the worn bit of his cigarette holder. "Might I say, young clown, you have...matured," he purred.

Jack just rolled his eyes as he climbed through the ropes and onto the mat below as Ronnie and Brian joined his side. He let his gaze fall away from Penguin's grotesque leer and glared at the kid that stood next to the bodyguard.

He smirked as he cautiously stepped forward, his hand outstretched. "Jack Quinn," he told the kid as the others watched.

Jack could sense that the teenager had been told he who it was he was to fight and he gulped as he looked at Penguin, who waved an impatient gesture to him. The kid gripped Jack's hand as he replied, "Manny...Manny MacNeil..."

Penguin quacked, impressed, "Such good sport of you, Jack. I trust we'll see it in the ring?"

Jack gave him a cold glance, saying, "If I were to say yes...then it would lead on that _I_ trust _you_...and I'm not that stupid, Cobblepot..."

The fat bird sneered up at him as he stepped closer. "I only wager on pitting my man to your strength...I've heard good things, Jacky Boy. With Croc's lessons and your, no doubt, inherited willfulness, I'm sure it will be a fine match..." He paused and grinned as he walked past Jack and his friends, signaling for his goon and Jack's opponent to follow. "Yes...a fine...match...indeed...cheerio, boys!"

Ronnie shivered after Penguin let the gym door slam shut. "Man...Ozzy's a dirty, old freak..." He bit his tongue as he looked at Jack. "Oh...sorry, man...didn't mean to say-"

"No worries, Ron," Jack smirked, even though the word was something he loathed entirely. "I gotta get home, guys...need to rest up..."

"That's right," Brian said. "Tomorrow...you, the ring, girls screamin' your name..."

"They already do that..." Jack smiled, mischievously as he friends laughed.

**The next night**

"There are more people here than I expected," Harley said to The Joker as they took a seat in the third row from the ring.

The Joker was out of his purple attire, instead dressed in navy blue slacks and a blue paisley silk shirt that peeked beneath his black blazer. His dark eyes peered toward the ring from underneath a dark fedora as he felt Harley nervously cling to his left arm as they sat in the growing crowd.

"Don't worry, Harl," he muttered. "We're not gonna get busted. This is the third fight we've been to and you already know what kinda crowd gets in here..."

"I know, Pud," she said, resting her cheek on his shoulder. "I'm more worried about Jack...what if he gets really hurt this time?"

"Harley..."

"Baby, the last fight he got a black eye and he couldn't open it for a whole week! What if he loses a tooth? Oh, and he's got such a pretty smile..."

The Joker chuckled. "Honey, come on. We've only been here ten minutes..."

"Oh, God..." she moaned, only to receive an indifferent pat on the hand from him.

"You look cute, by the way," he whispered in her ear, hoping to ease a bit of her tension.

Harley bit her lip. "Yeah?" she asked, smiling as she looked down at her red halter top and black skirt.

In the locker room, Jack sat on a bench as Brian wrapped tape around his knuckles while Ronnie kneaded his fists into his back. "You good, bro?" he asked him.

Jack took a deep breath and nodded. The fight wasn't making him anxious, but the anticipated crowd. It didn't make him tense...in fact, it invigorated him.

The lights, the shouting, the complete bedlam as the audience shouted their insights to the young fighters who were exchanging fists. It was like electricity through his body and he intended to use every bit of energy he had to put on a good show.

"My parents out there?" he asked quietly.

Brian let out a huff. "You know they are...you're mom's lookin' particularly fine tonight..."

"As always..." Ronnie joined in, grinning.

Jack knew they were trying to ease his fidgeting. "I'm gonna kill you both..." he snickered as he felt his purple gloves being slipped onto his taped hands and tied securely around his wrists.

"Okay, killer," Ronnie stepped in front of him. "Let's get crazy."

Jack grinned as he looked at his friend as he opened a small toiletry bag and produced a makeup sponge with a compact of black grease paint.

The crowd grew larger as Harley carefully stood up and strained her eyes. "Mistah J, it's Harvey!" The Joker looked at her as she frantically waved her arms for him to see them, and soon Two-Face was directed to sit in the spot between them. "How are ya, Harvey?" Harley asked excitedly as he kissed her hand.

"Not bad, doll," he grunted as he exchanged a quick handshake with The Joker. "It's a fuckin' mob here tonight. This must be some monster Oswald's bringin' in..."

"I saw him," The Joker sneered. "That's kid's a super-heavyweight, easy! He shouldn't be allowed to fight against a light-heavy like my boy..."

Two-Face cackled with amusement. "Listen to The Joker talk about fairness...never thought I'd hear it...anyway, don't worry; I know Jacky's gonna wipe the floor with this goon..."

Minutes later, the crowd was hungry for action as they chanted and whistled in anticipation. Harley had noticed, about two rows behind them, a few teenaged girls were seated in eagerness as well, cutting cautious glances to the suspicious characters around them. Harley grinned, making a mental note to keep a maternal eye open in case any creep should advance toward them.

The crowd grew louder as the referee entered the ring with a microphone and piece of paper in hand. "Ladies and gentleman, welcome to tonight's amateur match between two talented contenders! I may ask, please refrain from tossing potential projectiles, such as bottles, food, and the occasional chair, into the ring tonight." Laughter and jeers were the mixed reaction to the request as the referee continued, "The challenger for this evening...a nineteen-year-old hailing from Metropolis..."

The crowd erupted with instant boos and hisses as the referee held up his hand, saying, "Weighing in at 195 pounds, standing six foot, three inches and wearing black and gold trunks! His bite is definitely as terrible as his bark...please welcome, Manny 'Mastiff' MacNeil!"

MacNeil bounded through the crowd as he was welcomed with an array of heckles and pats on the back, his black and gold silk robe enveloping his huge frame. "Holy shit! That fucker's huge!" Harley exclaimed, making Two-Face laugh.

The challenger climbed through the ropes and held up his gloved hands proudly as though to win more applause. However, the audience calmed a bit as the referee held up his hand. "And now...the reigning champion...the home-town boy..."

People were now standing from their seats as their applause rang louder. "Weighing in at 178 pounds, standing at six foot one and wearing hunter green trunks...a lean, mean, seventeen..." The referee looked at the paper in his hand, rolled his eyes, and read, "He takes ladies to the 'Clubs,' showers them with 'Diamonds,' and then breaks their 'Hearts'...Jack 'Spades' Quinn!"

The gym erupted with applause mixed with a small volume of disapproved taunts as Jack walked toward the ring, his purple robe draping over him with the hood covering his head and face. Brian and Ronnie followed him, pumping their arms and high-fiving random people in the audience. Jack could hear his mother's voice telling him to 'kill the guy where he stands,' and he grinned, but when his friends approached him at his corner, he asked them, "Who wrote that God-awful intro?"

"I did," Brian beamed proudly and laughing hysterically.

"God dammit, Bry," Jack chuckled, climbing into the ring with his partners following suit. He kept his head down as they helped him out of his robe and backed away, Ronnie hamming it up by bowing as they quickly climbed out of the ring.

Jack slowly raised his head and peered out toward his crowd and the girls behind Harley screamed wildly when they spied the black paint around his piercing blue eyes.

The Joker smiled proudly as he gazed at his son as he stood in the middle of the ring, watching him turn to the direction of the screaming girls and giving them what he knew was his most charming smile. He could hear the girls swoon as they yelled over the cheering fans, "We love you, Jack!"

The Joker looked behind him and then looked at Harley, who now held a bemused expression, which quickly changed to that of concern and excitement as the resounding timbre of the bell sounded, beginning Round One.

**Next chapter: FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT! Please review! I love those things! - AS**


	16. Chapter 16

**To my returning readers: yes, I've changed the story. Love me or hate me for it, but I feel this is better. You'll see what I mean. Otherwise, enjoy. This is some fight; it was exciting but tiring to write. I go to bed now. PLEASE REVIEW! - AS**

Jack locked eyes with Manny as they stepped to the center of the ring, and he could see that his icy glare was cutting through to his opponent as the referee that stood between them quickly spouted guidelines and regulations.

The words were nothing but a blur to both boys when the bell sounded again and the referee ducked away and was through the ropes just in time to miss Manny's first roundhouse to Jack's chin. Jack stumbled back a bit, surprised at the weight behind the blow, but he just snickered and rejoined the punch with a barrage of his own as he charged the young fighter and pinned him against the ropes.

The Joker frowned as he grumbled. "He's gonna tire himself out."

However, Harley was bouncing eagerly on the other side of Two-Face, screaming as loud as she could, "That's it, Baby Boy! One, two! One, two! Knock his ass over!"

Manny was still against the ropes, covering his face with his gloves and shielding his torso with his arms until Jack bounced away. He raised his eyes to the black-painted ones of Jack's and saw that they were smiling at him, almost teasing him for cowering so soon.

Jack knew he could have easily taken down his prey with a few more punches, but, as Harley used to point out to him when he was a child, he loved to play with his food.

Manny growled as he lunged at Jack and sent his gloves to his chest and stomach, making him back away. It confused and frustrated him that he didn't even try to block his hits, so he punched with more force until his right glove came into contact with the left side of his collarbone.

Jack let out a loud groan and turned as he trotted to the ropes, meeting Brian who leapt up to him. "You okay, Jay-man?" he shouted.

He nodded and popped his neck as he turned back to Manny, where another roundhouse met his rib cage, and he winced as he bounced against the ropes as Brian jumped out of the way.

"Pay attention, boy!" The Joker growled above the din.

"Get him, Jack!" Two-Face shouted. "Don't let that Mick pound on you like that!"

"Beat his ass!" Harley added.

Jack growled back at his opponent as he charged him again, this time knocking him off his guard with a quick left uppercut, and the crowd grew louder as the first spray of blood glinted in the lights above the ring.

The girls behind Harley were screaming their approval with shrieks of his name and more professions of love.

Harley quickly turned her head to see the girls motioning to a few friends who had arrived late, and as soon as they climbed to their seats, she heard one girl say to one with straight black hair, "That's him! Omigawd, he's so freakin' hot!"

"Which one, Melanie?" the green-eyed girl shouted back to her.

"The one in the green shorts! I told you he was a dream!"

"That's The Joker's kid? Omigawd!"

Jack's mother smiled with pride as she turned back to the fight to see that Manny had once again taken the upper hand in the match.

Ronnie was wrapping his arm around the post that was Jack's corner and he was beating into it ferociously with his free fist. "Jacky! Come on! Wear him down!"

Jack did just that. He stood stock still in one place as Manny repeatedly punched him in the stomach, until his left knee finally gave out and he tumbled to the floor.

"Noooo!" Harley shrieked, truly horrified.

"Get up, Jack!" his father shouted at him.

Jack quickly crawled to the ropes as Manny strutted behind him with victorious biceps flexed. He could hear the girls behind his mother jeer at his opponent and he lifted his eyes to their direction and his quick glance locked with the girl with dark hair.

He had never seen her before, but her awestruck grin made him rise back on his feet and send his own left roundhouse to his opponent's right cheek as it ceased his confident swagger and left Manny on the floor.

"Hell yeah!" The Joker exclaimed triumphantly. "That's my boy!"

Jack mocked his opponent as he gave an exaggerated strut around him and his face scrunched up humorously as he played at flexing his own biceps.

The audience roared with laughter mixed with unhappy boos and hisses as Manny struggled to raise himself. Jack grinned as he heard Penguin's muddled quacking, which he took as an angry string of expletives, but he went over to his challenger and the entire gym echoed with taunts as he offered his glove to help him.

Manny hesitated, glaring into the dark orbs around Jack's bright blue eyes, but he took it after he mumbled through his purple mouthguard, "Either take it or kiss it, MacNeil..."

The kid bounced on his feet in front of Jack, making Jack follow suit, perfectly mimicking him. Manny's head was pounding as he tried to concentrate on what kind of game he was playing, but his focus was cut short when Jack sent a perfect punch to his gut.

He heard Manny groan in pain as he backed away, doubling over as he tried to catch his breath.

Jack was about to send another blow to his cheekbone, but the bell prevented him from doing so and he walked to his corner where he sat on the stool that Brian quickly put under him.

Ronnie whooped gleefully as he hopped in front of Jack with a water bottle and a bucket. "Yeah, boy! Yeah! You're gettin' him there, man! Just another two rounds..."

"I can't let him hit me..." Jack panted. "Point value..."

"This fight ain't about values, Jay!" Brian shouted over him as he toweled off his back and wiped his face. "This is about you knockin' his ass to the floor!"

"TKO, baby!" Ronnie added as he patted his chest. "That's what this mob is screamin' for..."

Jack took a deep breath. "Who's that girl, Ron?"

Ronnie laughed. "Which one? They're all here for you, man!"

"Forget the broads, Jack!" Brian reproached. "Send that fucker in the ring limpin' back that shit-hole Metropolis!"

Jack nodded, but quickly glanced behind him and saw that the dark-haired girl was chatting with her friend beside her.

The bell clanged loudly and the crowd intensified as Manny stomped toward Jack and fiercely let another glove fly to his jawbone. However, Jack veered away and met his advance with a punch to his rib cage.

"Just returning the favor, Maltese!" Jack bellowed.

Manny grunted in discomfort. "That's 'Mastiff,' you creepy fag!"

"Aww, Manny..." Jack cooed. "That's not gonna get me to second base..."

His opponent roared with annoyance as he lunged at him, wrapping his arms around him and pinning Jack against the ropes. They tried to exchange strikes against one another, Manny pounding into Jack's sides as Jack punched the back of his neck, but the referee loudly intervened.

"Hey, hey! Enough of that! We didn't come here to see you two snuggle!" He smacked Manny on the shoulder and the kid jumped off Jack.

"Keep it in your pants, MacNeil," Jack guffawed.

The flash of saliva on Jack's mouthguard incensed Manny and he sent an uppercut with his right glove under his chin, and blood sprayed upward as Jack staggered back onto the ropes again.

"If I see a tooth fly, I'm comin' in that ring, you brat!" Harley screamed over the crowd.

The Joker reached across Two-Face and grabbed her arm. "Harl! Can it! The boy can handle it!"

Still, Harley yelled, "We gave him that smile, Mister! Keep your filthy gloves away from it!"

Jack leaned against the ropes and carefully wiped his bottom lip with the cuff of his purple glove. He sneered as he advanced toward his opponent and socked him in perfectly in the nose, and Manny let out a cry as he lost his footing and dropped to the mat.

The Joker whistled with shrilled glee as Two-Face pumped his fist to the air. Harley bounced happily and tugged on Two-Face's arm. "Didya see? Didya see, Harvey?"

He laughed. "Yeah, we all saw that, Harley!"

Manny's nose bled as he tried to lift himself again, and Jack quickly turned back to the direction of the girls and squinted. He locked eyes with the dark-haired girl once more and winked at her.

The girl's friends cooed and screamed with delight. "Do you know him?" one of them asked excitedly.

She shook her head. "No, I've never seen him till now."

"Oh, girl," her blonde friend smiled. "He so wants you!"

"Shut up, Polly!" she squealed, slightly blushing.

Jack smiled, but the sight of his father's frustrated face made him turn back to his opponent who rejoined his previous hit with a brutal knock against his temple.

Jack suddenly felt dizzy and fell against the ropes, his legs feeling like jelly, and Ronnie ran to him, looking up and shouting, "What the hell was that, Jacky? Pay attention!"

"Yeah," Brian joined him. "We'll get you some pussy later! We got a fight to win!"

He squeezed his eyelids shut and he could feel the black paint melting down his face. He quickly wiped away the drops from his cheeks and tried to balance on his feet. Jack sprang forward and nicked Manny on the chin, leaving a slight scrape. However, his competitor pinned him against the ropes again and sent a torrent of violent punches to his ribs.

Jack grunted as he finally pushed him off and sent another roundhouse, catching Manny in the jawbone.

The Joker shook his head. "Those girls need to get the fuck outta here!" he said to Two-Face.

"I think they're actually the ones helpin' him, Jay," he said.

The Joker smirked and looked at Harley, who had tears streaming down her face. He moved past Two-Face and put his arm around her waist. "Harl, stop that!" he shouted at her, but she hid her face in his blazer. "He's okay! Geez, if you're gonna do this at every fight, then you're not coming to any more!"

"I'm fine, Mistah J!" she said over the crowd. "He's my boy; I can't help it!"

"I know, baby. He's my boy, too, but-"

Before he could continue, the bell sounded once more and he turned to see Jack limping to his corner.

He sat on his stool as Ronnie took a quick look at his right ankle as Brian gave him water. "What's up, Jay?" he asked.

"I...I think I sprained my ankle...when I fell just now..." Jack gasped for air.

"Breathe deep, Jacky!" Brian said. "Last round...this is your chance! Knock him to the floor!"

The dark-haired girl was watching him intensely, her breath held in her throat until the sight of the activities in MacNeil's corner caught her eye. She squinted to see his entourage gathered closely around him, and Penguin was rubbing something onto his gloves.

Her eyes grew wide as she tapped Melanie's arm. "I think Penguin's trying to set him up!"

"Huh?" her friend responded. "What do you mean?"

However, the girl suddenly stood up, cupped her hands over her lips and shouted, "Fix! Fix!"

A few people in the crowd, including The Joker and Two-Face, turned to the hysterical girl shouting toward Jack's opponent. "Fucking fix!" she screamed louder.

Jack heard a strident yell and turned to see his dark-haired girl standing on the bleacher, a frustrated and alarmed expression on her fair features. She cut her eyes to him and pointed to Manny, screaming, "Be careful, Jack! Be careful!"

The way she said his name made his heart pound and he had another surge of energy jolt through him and the sound of the bell made him jump to his feet, making Ronnie and Brian jump out of the way.

What did she mean 'be careful?' he thought to himself, but Manny's fist flew toward his temple again, but he ducked in time to miss it.

As a response to his attempt, Jack punched him in the chest, once, twice, three times until he was against the ropes, once again covering his face. It seemed that Manny was about to drop to his knees as Jack let the adrenaline rush through him.

He backed away to allow Manny to catch his breath before he gave him one final blow to end the match for good, but his opponent's right glove found its target into Jack's left eye where a sudden burning sensation seeped into it.

Jack screamed as he lurched backwards and knelt onto the mat, covering his eye as the burn grew deeper.

The Joker's own eyes grew wide when he finally comprehended what the girl was saying. Someone in MacNeil's corner had laced his glove with some kind of chemical that was able to bring Jack to his knees.

He suddenly bolted through the crowd and went over the Jack's corner where his two friends were screaming insults at Manny. The Joker was suddenly between Ronnie and Brian, who backed away, both in wonder and fear at being so close to the famous psychotic clown.

"Jack!" he yelled as his son was trying to climb onto the ropes. "Fight it!"

"God dammit!" Jack shouted in agony. "It burns! What the fuck is that shit! It fuckin' burns!"

"No shit, Sherlock!" The Joker growled at him. "Don't let that punk get to you like that! Fight through it!"

"I can't see!" his son gasped.

"Yes, you can, dammit!" The Joker yelled angrily as he slapped the mat.

Jack screamed through the throbbing in his eye, but got to his feet and leaned against the ropes.

"Kill him, Jacky!" he heard Harley shriek and he forced himself to open his eye and his heart pounded once more as he saw that the dark-haired girl had braved the tumult of the crowd and was standing behind The Joker.

Her wide green eyes glistened as he squinted at her and she shouted, "Fight him, Jack! Show no fuckin' mercy!"

The Joker knew that one of the girls had shuffled courageously to the floor, and he grinned as Jack paused to look at her.

He allowed his left eye to open fully to the throbbing pain and he asked her, "What's your name?"

The girl blinked nervously, but she smiled, saying, "Cat..."

Jack smiled back at her. "You're...you're very pretty..."

She couldn't stop the pink flush in her cheeks as he straightened and said, pointing his purple glove to her, "For you, Cat!"

He turned to Manny, who suddenly stopped bouncing triumphantly in place and looked in shock as Jack's bright blues burned into him through the dark abyss of melted paint around his eyes.

Jack slightly turned his head and spit out his purple mouthguard and he lunged violently at Manny and began delivering vicious blows about his face and torso as the crowd let out a deafening clamor that was nothing but cheers and whistles.

Manny was struggling to breathe as Jack's fists burrowed into his stomach and his leg muscles pulsated to allow him to keep standing, but they soon succumbed to the pain and he crumpled to his knees.

His opponent, however, kept delivering blows to his face, his gloves biting into his cheeks and ripping the skin and producing shiny, red slits that left stains on the purple leather. One last strike to his already injured nose made him black out and the Mastiff fell forward onto his face, completely still.

The bell rang three times to signal its winner and Harley jumped up and down excitedly, throwing her arms around Two-Face and planting a big kiss on his deformed lips. "Harley! Your man is down there!" he laughed.

Brian and Ronnie leapt on to the mat and threw their arms around Jack as the referee lifted his right arm in victory, and Ronnie hoisted Jack into the air.

Jack looked proudly at his parents and then at the dark-haired girl whose bright smile gleamed toward his gaze.


	17. Chapter 17

**I know, I know! It's been almost a month. Work sucks. Anywayz, here's a short lil chap to keep you anticipating the next. Should get interesting. Heheh... - AS**

"How's the eye, 'Spades?'" Townshend asked Jack as he popped the hood of the Cadillac. "Hand me that ratchet, will ya?"

Jack blinked and looked down on the ground where tools were spread across the grass. He knelt down and picked it up and looked at Townshend with his one good eye.

"It's okay," he sniffed as he casually caressed the white patch that was taped across his left eye. "Burns a bit..." He took his cell phone out of his hoodie and flipped it open, staring at it.

Townshend glanced at him and grinned. "Three days, Jack," he mumbled as he began to detach the car battery. "That's the rule."

Jack snickered. "I know, 'Dad.' I just...I'm just a bit antsy..."

"Just like your old man...here hold these." He handed him the bolts of the battery. "She seems like some gal if you keep manhandling your phone every three minutes..."

Jack grinned. He couldn't get Cat out of his head since the night of the fight, which was only one day ago. He was anxious to call her just hours after she had written her number on one of his boxing gloves.

_"You live around here?" he had asked her._

_She smiled, shyly, as she tucked her hair behind her left ear. "I live with my aunt near downtown, you know around the park."_

_"Cool..." he returned her smile. "Maybe...maybe we can meet there one day and...I don't know...hang out?" When she had lifted her surprised eyes to him, he stammered, "I mean...if you're not already...you know...seeing someone...are you?"_

_She shrugged. "Kinda, but...I don't think you have to worry...I mean...you just knocked out a guy almost twice your size..."_

_"Yeah," he looked away, almost bashfully. Before he could look at her again, his one blue eye and throbbing red eye staring at her, she was jotting something down onto his glove. He watched her and when she finished, they shared another coy smile and he asked, "It doesn't bother you...who I am?"_

_Her soft chuckle made his heart race. "No...kinda cool, actually."_

He heard Townshend laugh at the involuntary smile that had stretched across his face. "Man, you got it bad..." he muttered.

"Why should I have to wait, Towser? I mean, it isn't really in my blood to adhere to any kinda rules, right?"

"Hey, you do what you want..." he grunted as he positioned the battery under the hood.

Jack bit his lip, bouncing anxiously on his toes. "Ah, fuck it..." he whispered as he walked to a far corner of the lot.

"Hey! Leave the bolts, kid!" Townshend said. "A getaway car ain't worth shit if the battery falls out..."

Jack carelessly placed the bolts on the car engine and he heard one of them drop down through the machinery. "God dammit..." Townshend cursed, but Jack already had his ear to his phone.

After a few rings, Cat's voicemail picked up and he grinned when he heard her gentle voice. "It's your dime...make it worthwhile," was all it said.

He laughed and he left his message. "Hey, Cat. It's, uh...it's Jack. Listen, you said that you lived near the park so...I was wondering if we could meet there...I don't know, like...Wednesday around noon? Maybe grab a hot dog and take a walk? Or whatever...anywho...uh...I'll understand if you can't make it since you said you kinda had a boyfriend, but I mean if you wanna take a rain check I can see if there's a decent movie and-"

BEEP!

"Shit!" he whispered to himself as the voicemail ended. He shut his phone and was about to call her back, but he pocketed his phone and walked toward the theater to go back inside as the sun started to set.

At dinner, he sat in his place at the table, his knees bouncing up and down. The Joker took a gulp of his water and raised a curious eyebrow toward his son as he glanced at his anxious legs. "You okay, kiddo?" he asked.

Jack's eyes shot toward his father and he leaned forward and poked his spoon in the risotto his mother had made. "Yeah...I'm good..."

Harley noticed his demeanor and asked, "You sure, honey? You seem a little nervous."

"I'm good," he repeated, but set down his spoon and instead took a swig of his soda.

The Joker sighed and glared at him as he set his drink down hard onto the table. "You called her, didn't you?"

"What?" Jack said, startled.

"You did; admit it..." his father continued.

Jack rolled his eyes and sighed.

"God dammit, Jack," Harley said. "You have to wait three days!"

"What's with this dumb 'Three Days' rule?" Jack asked.

"Take it from a woman, Jack Quinn," Harley told him. "Calling a girl before the Three Day grace period is over makes you look desperate."

"Grace period?" Jack chuckled, amused. "It isn't like Dad had a damn grace period and you two have been together forever."

"That's because _my_ grace period was eight months!" The Joker said, smiling.

Jack sighed again and crossed his arms. "Okay, yeah, I called her, but she didn't pick up. I left a message, though, so-"

"No!" Harley shouted. "You never leave a message! It makes you appear-"

The shrill ringing of Jack's phone pierced the tension at the dinner table, and their son quickly jumped out of his seat as he answered it before it could ring a second time. "Hello!" he bellowed as he flipped it open. "Cat! Hey...oh, no, I can talk..."

Harley shook her head and mumbled, "Oh, sure he can talk...he's just having dinner with his family on one of the rare nights his father is actually home to enjoy it..."

"Harl, come on..." The Joker told her as he tried to listen to Jack.

"Puddin', don't eavesdrop..."

Jack climbed to the top of the stairs and sat down as Cat said, "I got your message and I just wanna say-"

"If you wanna pass, hey, it's cool. I understand-"

"No, Jack" she giggled. "I was gonna say that I do wanna hang out. Wednesday's fine..."

"Yeah?" Jack smiled. "Great! I was wondering if that would be good since...well, after I left the message I thought about...I don't know, if you were in school or-"

"Oh, no...I'm home-schooled," Cat said.

"Yeah, I was, too. Ever since I was five...Mom was my teacher..."

"Well, I kinda got into some trouble a few months ago and they didn't want to suspend me and my aunt didn't want expulsion on my school record. So, home-school was an option..."

"Oh..." Jack said, a bit amazed that Cat was quick to admit to an apparent wild streak. "What happened?"

"Well...I don't wanna talk about it..." she said, quietly.

"Ah...sorry..."

"No, no...I mean...it'll give us something to talk about on our date." Jack grinned as a small pause occurred in their dialogue as he noticed her shocked realization of what she said. "I mean...um...I'll see ya at noon, then?"

"Sure! See ya then..." Jack smiled and he closed his phone and looked at his parents who had been watching him the whole time.

"Well?" Harley asked. "Did you scare her off?"

"Hell no! It's a date, Mom," he shouted triumphantly as he bounded into his room.

Early Wednesday morning, he made a stop at Dr. Stein's office so he could get the bandage removed from his injured eye. He sat in the examination room and fiddled with the instruments on the wall, looking through the ocular lens of one them. Soon, the good doctor strolled through the door leaning on his cane and he smiled when he saw him.

"Jacky, my boy!" he exclaimed. "I swear, you're lookin' more like a man everyday."

"Hey, doc," Jack said. "How ya been?"

"Eh...not too bad. Maroni's givin' me the run around...some financial business..."

Jack smirked. He had seen the slow dilapidation of Dr. Stein's private practice because of the debts he owed to Sal Maroni and it annoyed Jack that he couldn't do anything about it.

"Now, let's take a look at that eye, shall we?" he said as he carefully pulled away the bandages. "Hmm...still red, I see, but healing very well. The ointment is helping a lot. So, what are you up to today, Jack?"

Jack grinned. "Nothing much...going to the park...on a date..."

"Ah! A date! Bless you, boy," he smiled at him. "Well, it looks like this really is your lucky day. I don't think you'll need these wraps anymore. So go have fun! Can't keep her waiting, huh?"

"Thanks, Doc," Jack said as he jumped off the table. He was about to walk out the door, but he quickly turned to the good doctor and handed him a wad of bills.

"Jack, no, no, no...I can't take this," Dr. Stein said, fervently shaking his head. "I can't take your father's money..."

"It's _my_ money and I want you to have it," Jack said, firmly. "I won it in the fight the other night and, well...I just want that asshole off your back, that's all."

Dr. Stein sighed and shook his head again. "_Lang labn zolt ir, _my boy..." the doctor whispered and pocketed the bills in his lab coat as Jack walked out of the office and headed to the park.


	18. Chapter 18

**Wow...I'm SO sorry for the long delay in updates. I will put up another chapter soon, kay? Work has been dramatic (leaving that sinking ship anyway), so I will have more time. Plus...I'm suddenly getting more ideas for Painted Faces...so keep your eyes peeled. *wink* Enjoy this short chap, then, if you will. Just a glimpse at the beginning of Jack and Cat. Please read and review. - AS**

Jack eagerly paced in front of a bench near a hot dog stand, peering out from underneath the shade of the tall elm at the people passing by. Some were jogging, others walking with a friend or even trying to keep an eye on their children as they ran ahead of their parents to make a beeline to the jungle gym.

He smiled at one little boy that happily ran up to the bars, climbed them and then jumped with arms outstretched, making his startled mother frantically shout his name as he successfully caught the bar just over his head.

Jack chuckled, remembering the time he did that to Harley, who nearly had a panic attack when she had looked up from her book and saw her son flying. "Jack Quinn! Don't ever do that again," she had scolded. "Geez, you think you're Superman or somethin'?"

"Look no further, Tiger," came a sweet voice behind him.

Jack turned and met the sparkling green eyes of Cat, who was smiling brightly. She had her black hair pulled back into a tight, low ponytail and was wearing a thin, long-sleeved turquoise hoodie shirt with low-rise black jeans.

He quickly skimmed over her body, but then blinked away, but Cat just smiled wider at his coyness.

"What?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Oh, nothin'. I'm just relieved it was you. I'd be a bit embarrassed if it were anyone else."

He laughed. "Well, I'm sure _they_ wouldn't be..."

Cat bit her tongue and looked around. "I'm starving. Where's that hot dog you promised me?"

"Gah, you just got here and you're already expecting me to buy you food?"

She pursed her lips. "You should know by now, Jack, that girls never turn down free lunch."

They were soon sitting quietly on the bench as they ate, Cat watching Jack devour his hot dog that was dripping with ketchup. He saw her and she quickly cut her eyes away and took a big bite of hers.

Not a word had been spoken while they ate until Jack suddenly blurted, "Did you hear about the Buddhist who ordered a hot dog?"

Cat giggled. "I don't think Buddhists eat pork...wait, those are Buddhists, right?"

He smiled as he shook his head. "Look it isn't a philosophical question..."

"Okay, then," she said. "Tell me about him."

"He told the vendor to make him 'one with everything...'"

She laughed, slightly choking on the mustard from her lunch. "Funny...but it's still a philosophical question if it's got a philosophical answer..."

"It's a punch line, Cat," Jack said.

"For him, or the vendor? That had to be one expensive hot dog."

"Well, enlightenment isn't cheap, you know."

They shared a laugh and sat quietly as they finished their hot dogs, and wiped her mouth with her napkin as she watched him look out toward the park. "How's your eye?" she asked.

"Alright, I guess," he muttered. "Still stings a bit..."

"Man, I wanted to go over to that corner and sock Penguin," she said. "Dirty mother-fucker; he knew he was about to lose some money so he takes the chicken's way out."

"He _is_ a bird...or so he wishes."

Cat sneered. "I've always wondered: why a bird?"

Jack grinned. "Why a cat? Why a plant?"

"Why a clown?" she said, raising an eyebrow.

He looked at her gaze and saw that she was serious. She was just as curious as he was about the other rogues and their identities, especially his father's.

She bit her lip, thinking she had hit a sore spot from the look he gave her. "Sorry...I didn't mean that, the way it sounded. I just find it interesting, is all."

"You're not the only one, Cat," he told her, easing closer to her. "I know there's something rooted in my dad's past that made him associate with the personality or the orthodoxy of a circus performer."

They were quiet again until she spoke, gently, "Maybe...it has nothing to do with the circus, Jack. You think maybe it's because it's his way of making fun of a clown's outlook? A clown makes people laugh, but...he's really the opposite of the customary way society sees a clown. Sure, he's a performer...but only to amuse himself, and not others."

He really had no words for her, but just looked at her with awe as her bright eyes made his heart pound.

She sighed. "Shit...I did it again. Forgive me if you feel I'm going too fast. I'm not interested in you just because of who you are..."

"You're not?" Jack asked. "Dammit..."

She giggled. "Again, not what I mean. That part of you is indeed interesting, but don't think that that isn't all that I want from you." She suddenly turned away and looked at the playground in front of them and Jack could see the slight flush in her cheek.

"Well, then..." he began. "What more do you want, Cat?"

"Okay...maybe I do move fast," she said. "I find you very...charismatic. In a good way, though, like...alluring..."

"I've never had that adjective thrown at me before," he said, smiling. "Thanks..." He sniffed and looked at the playground, too, then said quietly to her, "I find you alluring, too...enthralling, if I may be so bold..."

"Let's go on the merry-go-round," she suggested abruptly, hoping that the childish diversion would soothe her pounding heart as he moved closer to her.

She quickly sprinted to the playground as Jack shrugged and joined her.

Cat sat in the center between two bars as Jack made it spin at a steady pace and jumped onto it, placing himself across from her.

"I've always loved this thing," she said. "I still come out here sometimes when I need to get out of the house. I'd hold onto it and run real fast and then hop on, letting the wind whirl around me. It helps me let go..."

"Of what?" Jack asked.

She looked down and traced her thumb along the bar she was gripping. "Everything..." she whispered.

They let another moment of silence pass between them as they looked at one another. Without thinking, Jack rested his hand on her ankle and asked, "So...you gonna tell me what got you expelled?"

Cat took a deep breath and chuckled, "I, uh...got in a fight...a bad one..."

"How bad?"

"Like, put-him-in-the-hospital bad."

"Wait..._him_?" Jack smiled.

"Yep," she said, grinning at him. "Bastard smacked me really hard on the ass in the hallway and I slapped him. He shoved me into a locker after that."

Jack's ears burned angrily as he imagined some punk pushing her frail body against metal, but his anger receded when she continued, "I pounced on him again, this time with my anatomy book and knocked him right in the back of the head. He went into the concrete wall and busted his nose...had a concussion and he had to stay in the hospital...asshole didn't get in trouble. No, no...the girl who didn't like the way the jock put his hands on her was the one that got expelled."

"That sucks," Jack told her.

"Not too bad...I get to stay home the rest of the year. But my mom was pretty devastated."

"Are you close to her?"

"No...she's actually my step-mom. My real mom was killed in a car wreck when I was five and dad died in a bank heist a few years ago..."

Jack gulped, instantly hoping that the heist wasn't one of The Joker's, but he quickly shook away the thought. "So, do you graduate this year, then?"

"I have to go to summer school before I do that...you know, to take my finals. I could really give a shit, though. I've always learned on my own...I don't wanna go to college. My step-mom wants me to...probably to get me outta the house so she can screw around more with her boyfriend..."

"Speaking of boyfriend," Jack said. "Wouldn't yours be upset if he...you know...saw us right now?"

Cat rolled her eyes. "Who cares? I've been wanting to get rid of that jackass for a while now. He isn't any fun. We've only dated a few weeks."

"You think you'd feel that way about me after a while?" Jack didn't know why that inane question escaped his lips, but he was relieved when she just laughed.

"I can tell that you know how to enjoy yourself...I can read people like a book, Jack," she smiled, slyly.

He smiled, too, and leaned in closer to her. "Then what chapter am I on, Cat?"

Her eyes glistened as she licked her lips. "The one where we make out..."

Jack's heart began to pound again as she giggled when she felt his thumb on her ankle slowing caress her. He looked down and chuckled, but then brought his eyes to hers again, saying, "Why don't we save that for later..."

Cat's anxious expression softly waned but she grinned as he said, "There are children present..."


End file.
